What Money Can't Buy…
by Jezebel the Temptress
Summary: Superman would have been immortal, but it turns out that Clark Kent wasn't, or was he? - *slash* *futurefic* *complete*
1. 1

What Money Can't Buy…  
By: Jezebel the Temptress  
Disclaimers: WB and any other related companies own them. They are certainly not   
mine.  
Categories: AU, First Times, Angst  
Summary: Superman would have been immortal, but it turns out that Clark Kent   
wasn't, or was he?  
Notes: I've seen a few episodes of Smallville, some of this may be overshadowed   
however by my years as a fan of Lois and Clark. This is Slash, its C/Lex, so be   
warned. If you're underaged, easily squicked or homophobic go and read something   
rated less than R. This never started out to be this dark but along the way it morphed.  
This deals with life in the future, a future as I see it and therefore may be a little   
darker than any pretty pictures that the real series might paint, although having seen   
Hourglass this may be a nicer future.  
  
------------------  
  
Part 1 - Discoveries.  
  
Lex Luthor sat back in his leather chair and sighed, he had it all; the money, the fame,   
the prestige, the satisfaction of having dismantled his father's company a piece at a   
time until he finally owned LuthorCorp and all of it's subsidiary companies and yet   
there was still something missing. Lionel Luthor had always enjoyed nothing more   
than stripping down a company and taking it over, heading a board meeting and ruling   
the money markets as only a ruthless billionaire tycoon could; Lex's main problem   
was that he was not his father and no matter how hard he tried to be he would never   
be as cold and ruthless as the other man was.  
  
The buzz of his intercom drew his thoughts back to the matters of work and away   
from the melancholy of his own life, he was stuck with the largest company in the   
known world and he was going to run it better than the old man had. That meant   
endless meetings and consultations and he had one now that was probably just some   
other loser begging for money.  
  
"Yes Iris?" He asked his well-bred assistant, she was from fine English stock and had   
the organisation that one would expect of aristocracy, she also had the airs and graces   
of a countessa but not everything could be helped.  
  
"Your 2 pm is here Mr. Luthor." She said politely, he could almost picture the scowl   
on her face as she said the words. Iris resented having to call someone younger than   
her own youngest son Gerald 'mr.', but she was too well-to-do to do without the   
niceties that her own background afforded her. Lex sighed as he wondered who it   
would be this time, he used to keep abreast of all of the comings and goings at   
LexCorp, the main company that ran his holdings but now he had people to do that for   
him and he only dealt with the ones that wanted direct contact with the man in charge.  
  
Iris opened the door and Lex blinked rapidly at the sight in front of him, he had not   
expected to see any of them again, he had left Smallville almost four years ago to   
return to the city, he was needed at the helm of his flagship company, at least that had   
been his excuse to leave but now he wondered what had happened there that had   
caused her to change so greatly. Of course there was always a sadness in her eyes,   
there had been for a while before he left but now she was almost misery personified.   
  
The girl in front of him was not how he had remembered, she seemed more haggard   
somehow, as if the ways of the world had not been kind to her. Of course there was   
always a sadness in her eyes, there had been for a while before he left but now she   
was almost misery personified. Lex felt a kinship that had never been there before,   
he knew the pain that life brought as well as the next man, if not more than that.   
Perhaps they were meant to be kindred spirits, she had lost her own mother as he had   
lost his, the circumstances were different but the loss of a parent was the same, the   
kind of undeniable pain that rocked you to the very core and meant the world would   
never be the same again.  
  
"Lana Lang, long time no see." He greeted as he indicated that she take a seat.   
"Thank you Iris, that will be all." He said more loudly as the nosey assistant lingered   
in his doorway. She was obviously interested in the young lady that was visiting him,   
she never quite got over the maternal instinct despite being his employee not his   
mother. Looking slightly offended she turned and left in a huff.  
  
"Thank you for seeing me at such short notice." Lana said, her tone full of politeness   
as she spoke. It was not the strongwilled girl that he remembered that sat in front of   
him but a less than capable woman. "I realise that you are a very busy man."  
  
"I like to think that I would always have time for my friends." He said, of course he   
had not. He had not looked back when he left Smallville, some things were too   
painful and others were not worth remembering. He wondered now why he had not   
been back, it could not have been as bad as he first thought as he had stayed there for   
so long. He ignored the voice that retorted that it was not really anything other than   
Clark that he had stayed for.  
  
"Friend…" She said, rolling the word in her mouth as if it were new, she smiled and a   
little of the old Lana showed through. "It's been a long time since anyone has called   
me that."  
  
"Was there a reason for your visit?" He asked not meaning for it to sound as curt as it   
had come out, the smile faded and the fragile insecurity was back. Lana reached into   
her purse and pulled out a letter, it was obviously important as it came in a pure white   
envelope and had not been folded, she looked at it briefly before handing it to him,   
Lex was intrigued and took it straight away.  
  
"It's from Chloe." Lana said as if that were an explanation, it did not explain why the   
other girl was not there to deliver it in person. "Chloe Sullivan, she ran the Torch…"  
  
"Yes, I remember her. Had a crush on Clark if I remember correctly." He said as he   
reached for the antique letter opener that he kept on the desk, he slit the envelope with   
a flick of his wrist and left a straight tear where the fold had been. "What ever   
happened to her? I always thought she would end up at the Planet."  
  
"Chloe died last month, she was in Eastern Europe working as a correspondent for the   
Post, she got caught up in some small land dispute that she was reporting on." Lana   
said, the sadness touched her eyes. "She had left a will, there were letters to each of   
us and mine asked that I deliver them to each of you."  
  
Lex pulled out the number of papers that he had in his hand and looked down at them,   
there appeared to be a few documents and there was a handwritten page that looked   
like it was a letter. He put it to one side to read later, when he would have his full   
focus to commit to it and turned back to Lana.  
  
"How have you been?" He asked her amiably, they had not been the best of friends   
when she was at school but he had always liked her, even if he was jealous that she   
had the attention of the man he would never have. "Are you still with Whitney?"  
  
Lana's face clouded over as she got fearful and she stood to leave.  
  
"I have to get back, Smallville is a long drive and I want to be back before dark." She   
said. "I delivered the letter, that was all I came to do."  
  
Lex watched her leave and wondered if there was something else that he was not   
seeing, something other than a friend carrying out the dying wish of a tragic hero.   
Lana had a past but that did not explain the pain she was in. He turned back to the   
desk and his papers, Lana could wait but the letter had his interest peaked and he   
wanted to know what Chloe had to say to him.  
  
--------------------  
  
The documents were relatively official and Lex was glad that he was knowledgeable   
enough to deal with the legalese that they were written in to get what they were   
saying. Some of them were documents from his own companies, or rather   
subsidiaries of them, he knew that because he recognised the corporate logo at the top   
of them. They all dealt with the meteors that had so long plagued the town of   
Smallville, of its 45,000 inhabitants many were affected personally by the fallout.   
Instinctively he wiped his hand over his bald head, he was only one of those that had   
survived the shower.  
  
The papers seemed to date back to when the meteors had first landed and catalogued a   
number of unknown phenomena that seemed all to be related, he had heard of the   
theories of what had happened and knew that some of it had been unofficially put   
down to radiation but this seemed a far more out there theory of what was going on.   
There were times, dates, accounts both first hand and secondary and there was a large   
pile of stories that catalogued the weird occurences in the otherwise sleepy small   
town. Lex had seen a lot of them, his own company, or his father's company as it had   
once been had been blamed for a lot of the disturbances and he had seen the stories in   
legal files and case notes. He pulled out the next paper in the stack which was a hand   
written note, it was not very long as messages went but he recognised the quirky   
scrawl from the Christmas card that he had received annually.  
  
Lex,  
  
I hope that I can call you that seeing as this is the last time I will write it, if not now   
then when? I know that it must seem strange for me to write this to you but you are   
one of the few people that I know of who will completely understand this story - It   
takes a person evil enough to commit these acts to understand them. I do not mean   
that you are evil but I know what you suffered under the hands of one Lionel Luthor,   
certain files are too easy to find, that is why I know that you will be equiped to deal   
with this.  
  
Last Summer I was on my internship at "The Post" when I stumbled across a   
photograph that could not have existed, it was in the data files of one of the archives   
and depicted a man that could not possibly be in the photograph. It was dated July   
12th 2004, but the man in it was dead a long time before that; at least that was what   
they wanted us to believe. I started to do some digging and found out that it was from   
a batch that we had seized when the Inquisitor folded, it was from a project that they   
had scoped out before they were shut down. If I am right then the man in the   
photograph was someone we knew as Clark Kent; there he was just patient X.  
  
Whichever agency captured him and faked his death are closing in on me and you are   
the only person I know with the skill and resources to deal with this, Pete has a wife   
and children and was never much of a hero and Lana, well, she has problems of her   
own. I know that you were never my friend but if nothing else you owe Clark your   
life at least twice over, if you can, please help him. Clark was made to do great things   
and I know that with your help he can at least try.  
  
I'm sorry that we never got to know each other, I'm sure we could have been great   
friends.  
  
CS.  
  
Lex pushed the pages aside and found a blurry photograph that looked as if it was   
from a closed circuit or hidden camera, it was grainy but there was definitely a figure   
and he looked uncannily like Clark Kent. The date read July 12th 2004, it must have   
been the one that Chloe found, the question was whether Clark was actually the one in   
the picture and if so where he was now. Lex could not keep the tears out of his eyes   
as he thought about it, he had spent so many years mourning what he had lost that he   
had not thought clearly enough about his death, if only he had looked more deeply   
maybe he would have found something. Lex picked up the phone and wiped his face   
as he tightened his control on his emotions, Lionel had taught him well that there was   
something to be said for unemotional conduct and that was what he was going to   
engage now. Putting in a call to the man he kept well paid in the Senate office he   
began asking some serious questions about why it was the Inquisitor had shut and   
what it was that had happened, he also called his 'friends' in Intelligence, Congress   
and the White House; if that failed he would go to the Pentagon. Whatever it took he   
was going to find out who the man in the photograph was, because he had the power   
to do so and because Chloe was right, he owed Clark Kent his life.  
  
------------------  
  
It took a few days for the news to trickle back to Lex, he heard different stories from   
different people, none of it seemed relavant in itself but put together it was more   
interesting. Like a jigsaw once you had all of the pieces it seemed to create a much   
bigger and clearer picture.  
  
An aide to a Congressman had spoken of a special building in Virginia that was used   
to house all of the worst criminals or terrorists; someone else had mentioned   
experiments done by the Defence Department in and around Kansas, specifically with   
radiation and a White House intern had told him that there was something going on in   
the secret defence meetings that the new president was apparently unhappy with; all   
of the information pointed to a cover up on a huge scale.  
  
Lex called around, put in a few hints and soon enough he had a higher up in the CIA   
on the phone demanding to know what it was that he wanted with their department, he   
had apparently upset the apple cart by just looking.  
  
"Mr. Luthor I must warn you that if you follow this course of investigation we will be   
forced to carry out investigations of our own." He said. "We have ways and means   
Mr. Luthor."  
  
"Ways and means to eliminate a rising star journalist perhaps but could you take out a   
high powered businessman in the public eye?" Lex asked. "Do you really think that I   
have not already thought of all your possible strategies?" he asked, that was partly the   
beauty of being so young; people underestimated his strength and wisdom.   
  
Lex had been plotting since Kindergarten, had been bred by his father to live up to the   
expectations of the Luthor name and had read the art of war before he even   
discovered the little train that could. The truth was that he had a man in the CIA, one   
higher than this one that called him in his pocket and he had been warned that this   
could mean a serious issue over any plans he had in the future. They would not kill   
him but he would find defence grants were not won quite so easily and that he could   
find himself in court. However even these could be overcome, after all there were   
competitors of the US that would be willing to pick up any excess arms and probably   
at twice the price and he had made sure that all of his business dealings were so   
scrupulously covered that no one would ever find so much as an unpaid parking ticket   
on him; being a rebel had taught him something at least and that was that if you are   
going to get caught make sure that no one finds out about it.  
  
"Mr. Luthor, we are the CIA." The man said as if Lex was meant to be impressed.  
  
The problem was that Lex had a card up his sleeve that he would not play unless he   
absolutely had to, but he was willing to play it and he thought that now was probably   
the right time.  
  
"Have you heard of ELCom Enterprises, or perhaps XCorp Central?" He asked, they   
were the biggest defence and oil suppliers in the world. "Both are subsidiaries of   
LexCorp and have departments in all the right areas of commerce to cripple the   
American government if they cease trade. Add to that the money and jobs lost when   
LuthorCorp sells its assets and you could shatter the world's economy in a matter of   
months. You must be old enough to remember the OPEC crisis, well I'll make that   
look like a child's game in comparison." Lex said. "Tell me now how you are the   
CIA…" There was a joke in his voice but it was humourless, the menace clear in the   
maniacal laughter.  
  
Lex knew that he could border on madness, the counsellor his father had fired in fifth   
grade had told of the boy's borderline hysteria and violent tendencies. He usually kept   
them under tight reign but he would let them loose once in a while just to remind the   
world that he was not the mild-mannered man that they all thought he was. There was   
only one rule that Lex had kept from his father's set and that was trust no one,   
especially if his last name is Luthor.  
  
"What do you want?" The man on the other end of the phone asked, Lex made his   
position clear in two words.  
  
"Clark Kent."  
  
The details could be ironed out, he would see to it that whatever contract or deal was   
agreed was watertight, even the top lawyers in the world would not get around him.   
He wondered if Chloe Sullivan was looking down from her place in heaven smiling   
that she had chosen the right man. He certainly hoped that he could live up to her   
expectations.  
  
-------------  
  
Tobe continued  
  
Note:  
  
This is my first story in this fandom, I'm not used to writing the characters yet so I   
hope I got them right, plus I know there is no Clark here but he's in the next part. 


	2. 2

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Part 2 - Freedom at a price.  
  
Today was a good day, he could remember his name and who he was, that was an   
improvement on other days. He didn't really know what was day and night anymore   
as they had a cycle that was designed to keep him confused but he treated any time   
that the lights were on as a new day. Clark did not know how long he had been at the   
'facility', there were a million things around him with the key intention to disorient   
him and make him unaware of where he was, who he was or even what the people   
holding him had wanted.   
  
Good days when he could remember his name also came at a price, he could   
remember the day he had come to the facility and it was something that he had played   
over in his head again and again. He kept replaying the events, trying to find a   
possible solution, some other way that he could have done it but he never came up   
with anything, it was just the same scenario repeated over and over until he wished it   
was just a day when he could forget.  
  
He wasn't sure how but they had known his secret, Phelan was dead and anyone else   
that knew had been in the car with him that night, his parents and he were to his   
knowledge the only ones that knew about the space ship in the storm cellar and the   
only ones that knew he was extra-terrestrial. Yet when they had been pulled over by a   
state trooper as part of a 'routine enquiry' he had known something was up. In a flash   
they were surrounded by the army and the special forces and he had been warned not   
to move. Someone had put a shotgun to his mother's head and threatened to shoot her   
if he moved. There was a needle then, he remembered thinking that it would be okay   
because he broke the needles other people had tried using. He didn't think that they   
were in any real trouble until he felt the burn as whatever they had injected him with   
entered his system. It had been a meteor rock compound needle, he knew that now   
because when they used them them now they glowed green, whatever they had hit   
him with had knocked him out for a long time, he had woken up later at the facility   
strapped to a chair and told that if he broke his bonds his parents, his friends, anyone   
that even knew his name would be killed and it would be on his head.  
  
Some days when whoever was keeping him captive felt generous, he got news of his   
family or friends, like the day LuthorCorp had been overtaken by Lex Industries, or   
when Lana and Whitney got married. Other days they tested things on him, strange   
new substances that would give him a headache or make him sick. There were lots of   
tests too, new and interesting ones mixed with the same old taking of samples. Clark   
supposed that they were trying to find out where his powers came from but he was   
pretty sure that they were not succeeding and it puzzled them even more when he   
started developing new ones.  
  
Some months back (as far as he could tell by his crude way of passing time) he had   
developed the ability to 'see fire', he felt like a comic book superhero who could burn   
things with his eyes, the guy from X-men that wore glasses to protect himself came to   
mind. They had covered his eyes for days, taped them shut as they worked out what   
to do with him. Also he had learned that his hovering could be controlled, maybe in   
his old life he could have tested it, could have gone out to the barn and fallen out of   
the window to see if he could fly. Now he knew he would never see the sky, let alone   
fly in it. He had learned to disassociate himself from his past, they called him Patient   
X and some days he remembered only that, sometimes he wondered if it would have   
been better if he had landed a few fields over and been picked up by the army first,   
been tested and not loved. At least that way he would not feel the pain he did.   
  
Clark rolled over on his mattress as he heard the door click open, there was no use   
steeling himself for attack, he knew that it was coming and he was ready for it. He   
could not fight or they would hurt his parents, hurt his friends, or hurt Lex. He   
wondered what they wanted to test today, he thanked whichever doctor it was when   
they injected him with the green drug as the blissful state of unconciousness overtook   
him again. At least he would not feel this batch of tests.  
  
------------------  
  
Doctor Zimmerman frowned at the notice, he didn't understand the government memo   
that he had just received. They were a semi-autonomous organisation with a large   
government funding behind them, they worked outside the law for the good of   
America, or at least that was what he had always thought. His early career had been   
threatened by his own work that was questionable when he had worked with genetics   
and cloning but now he was working for Uncle Sam it didn't matter that there was   
some ethical questions surrounding his work, they didn't care as long as it was   
controlled. Now he found out that his specific experiments were to be terminated and   
all findings were to be transferred to the LexCorp Scientific Foundation which was   
based in Metropolis. The test subject was to be transferred too and any of his staff   
that refused the 'severance' package that they were being offered would be terminated   
without pay.  
  
Bradley Zimmerman decided that he needed to call a meeting, at least if he could   
determine what findings they had he might be able to save some jobs by appealing to   
the scientists at LexCorp when the patient was relocated. The message he sent around   
to his employees was clear, we need to get some results quickly and for the first time   
we need to justify our experiments to the government or at least make them saleable   
to the private sector, otherwise we all lose our jobs and more than that, our lives.  
  
---------------------  
  
There was something that made this day different than any other for Clark, it was not   
only that it was one of the days that he remembered who he was (although that made   
for a good day) but it was that he had been left alone. He knew that a lot of time had   
passed, maybe more than the regular cycle of artificial light that he knew as a day, and   
no one had come in to take blood or other specimens. He wanted to knock on the   
door to ask if they had forgotten he was there but that was the one wish he knew   
would not come true, there were only two things that were consistent about his life,   
his lack of freedom and his tests. Being an alien he did not know if he would ever die   
but he knew that since he had come here he did not have any rights and he was   
subjected to regular tests, that was just the way it was.  
  
The door opened and he let out the tense sigh that he had kept in, but this was   
different, sure the lady had come in carrying the syringe with the glowing green   
compound in it and she carried a tazer in her other hand in case he tried to fight her   
but there was a second person, a man with a trolley to put him on. Clark wanted to   
fight but he knew that it meant pain, if nothing else they would use the meteor rocks   
that they all carried and he would be incapacitated. If they were feeling particularly   
cruel they would beat him while he was weakened. Instead the lady reached out to   
inject him and then he felt strong arms lift him up onto the gurney to take him away.   
  
His last thoughts before oblivion were that at least he might get to see some other   
place before was taken off for the 'final experiment', he hoped that he would and that   
they would finally end his misery, that was all he wanted.  
  
---------------------  
  
To be continued soon… 


	3. 3

---------------------  
  
Part 3 - Reunification  
  
It had taken longer than Lex would have hoped to get Clark back into Kansas, it had   
been over a month since Lana's visit and now that Luthor knew of Clark's fate he   
could feel for him every day that he had to be in that place; every day that he was   
going through the needless pain of endless tests and probings. Today was the day that   
it would all come to an end. Of course he did not know what state his friend, if he   
even was still a friend, would be in. After a few hours at Zero hanging upside down   
Lex had not been able to sleep for weeks, he still felt the ache sometimes of the nights   
locked alone in his father's basement so he knew that after four years of subjection to   
isolation and rejection Clark may not be the same young man that he had known. He   
was prepared for that but he hoped that there was still a glimmer of the man that he   
had known locked inside, no matter how deep. That there was at least a last vestige of   
the honour and truth that Clark had shown him, the good qualities that Lex had vowed   
to the empty grave that he would try to uphold; Clark had always believed most   
highly in truth and Justice and Lex had tried to always work with those in his work, at   
least for those that he though deserved them.  
  
A knock at his door drew Lex from his thoughts, he had not wanted to be disturbed,   
he was trying to get himself ready for seeing Clark for the first time, that meant that it   
must be important.  
  
"Yes?" He asked curtly as the door opened.  
  
"Dr. Luthor, Dr. Zimmerman is here with the patient." His secretary said, she was not   
as efficient as Iris but then she was a lot younger and a lot less used to dealing with   
him than his personal assistant was.  
  
"Thank you. Would you send the good doctor through, tell him that the head   
researcher would like to hear of his progress." He said, she nodded and he noticed the   
twinkle in her eye, one of mischief and rebellion, he knew that she at least understood   
his plan, he would confuse the doctor with his presence and she knew that. He had   
understimated her, he would not do the same with the doctor.  
  
Doctor Zimmerman was glad that the head researcher wanted to see him, he knew that   
if he presented his findings to him that they would want to keep him on. He thought   
that he had made a lot of progress with Patient X and he knew that he could make   
some of their findings lucrative in the defence market just as he would have been able   
to if the government had not sold him out. He was surprised to see the plush offices   
that he was shown into, he knew of the wealth of LexCorp but had assumed that it   
was all lining the coffers of Lex Luthor's private millions, he did not expect them to   
pass on the benefits of the money to their employees.   
  
"Dr. Zimmerman, our head researcher will see you now." The secretary that had   
shown him in said as she indicated another door. Bradley Zimmerman stood,   
gathered his papers and took a deep breathe as he stepped through the door, he saw   
the man seated in the leather chair, it's back to him like in a James Bond film and he   
plastered on a friendly smile.  
  
"Thank you for seeing me at such short notice." He said, the chair turned and he knew   
that this was an acknowledgement of his presence, his smile dropped as he saw who   
exactly it was that sat in the chair. "I'm sorry Mr. Luthor, I was lead to believe I was   
meeting with the researcher today."  
  
"Take a seat Dr. Zimmerman, please, call me *Doctor* Luthor, I take a keen interest   
in the runnings of the Biochemical and chemical research that our facilities do. When   
I heard of your research I just had to be here, it's a little known hobby of mine,   
thankfully one that Ms. Lane has not discovered yet." He said, she really was a bane   
in his life, reporting everywhere he went and everything he did. Cat Grant's column   
could be bought with a few nice gifts and comments every now and then, but Ms.   
Lane saw her career further than that and he hated her exposes on his life.  
  
"Sorry Dr. Luthor." He said, too little too late as far as Lex was concerned but he still   
needed this man for at least a few more hours. "Perhaps I could share some of our   
research with you…." He said, wondering if he had been blessed with going directly   
to the money man, the figures would speak for themselves he was sure, even if they   
were embellished a bit and Luthors were known for their underhanded practices. Lex   
smiled and nodded, this was too easy.  
  
For the next half an hour Dr. Bradley Zimmerman unwittingly told Lex Luthor all he   
needed to know about their research, in that time Lex made two decisions about the   
research. Some of it was indeed useful, it would help them to determine exactly   
where Clark was from and it answered some questions that Lex still had over his car   
accident, the second was that this man and his team knew too much about Clark to   
make it possible for them all to accept his release back into mankind. Lex hated to do   
it but as soon as Dr. Zimmerman was gone he would order the immediate and   
permanent termination of each of the people that had personally dealt with Patient X   
unless they themselves agreed to a life of working at Cadmus Labs. Any and all   
research would be transferred to his own lab at his home in Metropolis for his eyes   
only, unless Clark was well enough to view it, then he may share it with the other   
man.  
  
"One question before you go, Dr. Zimmerman." Lex said. "What is your patient's   
name?"  
  
"We call him Patient X." Dr. Zimmerman said good-naturedly, he assumed that the   
man had not even been listening, let alone followed what he had spoken of, the   
doctorate had no doubt been purchased on a whim.  
  
"No, I asked his name, not what you called him." Lex said, trying to keep the anger   
from his voice. Emotion was a weakness and he would not let it out now but it   
enraged him that this man did not even treat his once sweet and gentle Clark as a   
human being, sure he was an alien but even they had rights.  
  
"I don't remember, I'm sure it is somewhere amongst the papers." The doctor said,   
rifling through them. "I can certainly find out for you."  
  
"No need, I know it." Lex said. "There is one other thing that Ms. Lane failed to   
report and that is that Lex Luthor looks after his friends." Lex said as he reached into   
his desk drawer. "I'm sorry, Dr. Zimmerman but your contract with us has come to an   
end." He said as he drew the gun from the drawer, as the doctor rose to protest he felt   
a burning in his chest and saw the dart that had shot him in the chest. "It's a   
compound my labs developed, a silent but deadly and almost undetectable element.   
You'll be dead in…seconds." He said as he saw the man fall to the floor. Calmly Lex   
pressed a button and a security man came through the door.  
  
"Take care of this mess." He said impassively, and then handed the guard a note, it   
was a list of names of all of the other employees that were to either meet the same fate   
or be given the choice of life or death. "These people are to be detained or dealt with   
in a similar fashion."  
  
"Yes sir." The man said, his voice full of reverance and respect. Lex enjoyed a   
moment of power before he settled back into the routine.  
  
Lex leaned back in his chair and picked up the papers that the doctor had left behind,   
he wanted to go and see Clark but first he needed to know how damaged the boy was,   
it was as he had feared, he had lived four years not as Clark Kent but as nobody, he   
just hoped that the kid was not completely broken.  
  
----------------------  
  
Clark woke to view his new surroundings through a foggy haze, he had not expected   
to be moved to a new location, but then part of him had not expected to wake up at   
all. He knew that they were trying to keep him disoriented but usually that just meant   
moving him to a different part of the lab, something about the smell or sense of this   
place was new. It didn't feel like his cell.  
  
As his vision cleared Clark could make out a window, it only looked out onto a   
courtyard but it was a window at least and for the first time that he could remember   
since his capture he had a room with a view. There was a bed too, furniture was a   
luxury that he had not been allowed before and while it was screwed to the floor there   
was a real bed and a real desk in his room, a chair too. Tears welled as he wondered   
if this was some tormenting dream or if this was some kind of treat for him, show him   
what he would be allowed if he just told them the secrets of his home world and the   
invasion force that he was allegedly part of. If not it was the last resting place of a   
dying man.  
  
"Where am I?" Clark asked, his voice still rough from the hoarse moaning from the   
pain of the drugs, a lot of the time when he was out of it he didn't really know what   
was happening but a lot of the time he knew he must scream from the soreness of his   
throat when he came to. "What do you want with me?"  
  
He knew that the questions would not be answered, at least not until they gave him   
something that he wanted but he had to try. He didn't know if he was supposed to use   
the bed or not but he was tired and he was sure that it would not matter, they never   
really beat him that much anymore, he was conditioned into doing what was right -   
what they wanted. They would not have given him these luxuries if he was not   
allowed to use them and if they had it was their fault for not answering him sooner.  
  
Soon he was asleep, resting for the first time in a comfortable bed and for a moment   
he could pretend that he was somewhere else, maybe on the sofa in his fortress of   
solitude or in his bed at home. He could make believe that he was somewhere other   
than this research facility…that he was home.  
  
Clark didn't know if it was his superhearing or the years of conditioning that woke   
him when he heard the click of the door, the first thing he noticed was the sound of   
the shoes, it was not the shuffle of standard issue scrub style that the doctors wore, nor   
was it the pounding of the army jack boots the security team had it was more of a   
squeak, soft leather uppers and a rubber style sole. Clark was not an expert on shoes   
but he had come to learn to tell the difference between certain things and with a   
distinct lack of things to do sometimes it was fun to make games just to test his   
abilities. In a way doing just that was comforting, remembering some of the extra   
lessons that his home schooling had taught him such as dealing with super strength   
and the similar games that Jonathan Kent had made up to test his reflexes.  
  
"Clark?" The voice said, he was laying on the bed and he curled tighter as he heard   
the voice. He didn't know how they had devised this new torture but it was too   
painful to look, too painful to see that it was not real. "Clark, it's Lex." His voice was   
a touch softer than Clark remembered.   
  
He felt a hand on his shoulder and tried not to flinch at the touch, they didn't like that   
because they didn't think he could hurt. To them he was indestructable so pain did not   
touch him, they did not count the emotional kind. The hand took his not recoiling as a   
good sign and rolled him over, Clark could not help but look at the gentle person that   
was stroking his arm, when he saw the kind face he felt the tears fall.  
  
"Shhh…It's okay…" He soothed, this was not right, Lex was strong, Alexander the   
Great's namesake did not coo like a den mother. "Clark, It's okay…"  
  
"No. Please…" Clark begged, his hoarse voice allowing him only a whisper. "Go   
Away."  
  
Lex pulled his hand back but did not budge, he had not come this far to leave Clark in   
here. Sure the boy needed to stay for a few days but he wanted him to know where he   
was, who he was and that he was free to leave. He would have a discrete tail if Clark   
did escape that would follow the kid but he would not keep him in his prison for a   
minute more than he needed and if Clark bolted at superspeed there was always   
satelites, he owned most of them and there was an implant in Clark's body to pinpoint   
his location. That was one part of the research Lex thought was a good idea, at least   
while he was recovering.  
  
"It's Lex, Clark. Lex Luthor. Do you remember?" He asked, not sure how far inside   
his psyche Clark would be locked.  
  
"Go Away. You're Not Real. This is Not Real." He said and then it hit Lex, Clark   
thought that he was hallucinating, he thought that all of this was some elaborate   
illusion or new torment. Lex shuddered at that thought and wondered what mind   
games they had played, wondered if Chloe had not underestimated that even he was   
not strong enough to deal with this. "Go Away. Not Real."  
  
"Clark it is me." Lex said, desperately searching for a way to stop the now rocking   
boy who just repeated the same four words over and over in the same monotone.   
"You saved my life remember, pulled me out of my car. You stopped Pete from   
shooting me." He said, trying to think of something, anything that Clark might   
remember about him. When he got no response he knew that he needed something   
that only the two of them would know. Something that would stop Clark from   
repeating the mantra that he was chanting.  
  
"Go Away. Not Real."  
  
"Clark, you still have my copy of "Hamlet" that you borrowed for Freshman English   
and I need it back." He said, it sounded stupid but it had driven him insane that every   
time he walked past the bound set of Shakespeare's classics he was missing one   
volume, the gap on his shelves a reminder of the gap in his heart.  
  
"Lex?" Clark asked as he opened his eyes, the shock of the statement enough to   
remind him of the small fact that only he knew. He remembered tiny details in his   
more lucid days and he had started a list of regrets, he didn't know if that was one of   
them but he wished it had of been. "They got you too?" There was a fear in his voice   
now, he wasn't really thinking clearly but he knew that Lex shouldn't be there, not if   
he would suffer.  
  
"No Clark, I got you." Lex said. "I owed you for saving me, sorry it took so long."   
There was a pitiful laugh in his voice, not for Clark but for himself. He had not really   
saved his friend at all, if he had then Clark never would have been in this place.   
  
"Saved?" Clark asked, his voice a little clearer but still dry and throaty.  
  
"Yes Clark, Saved. Free. I'm sorry it took so long." Lex said, he knew that there was   
time later for explanations and recriminations but Clark was probably far too   
overwhelmed by it all now to take any notice.  
  
"But…but…my parents…" Clark coughed, he had done this for them, for his friends   
and for anyone else that he could put in danger just by being around.  
  
"Clark, they died. In the accident that you…" He trailed off as he realised that Clark   
hadn't known, he knew that this would get a reaction and backed off just in time to see   
Clark punch his fist through the bed base and then rip it from its position on the floor.   
Lex slipped out of the door and watched as Clark proceeded to tear the room apart.   
He had never seen a display of Clark's true strength, he knew that he had the power to   
literally rip a car open as if it were a tin can but just seeing such raw power was   
almost scary. If he had not witnessed the tears and known the boy that this man had   
once been he would have questioned if he even had any humanity left in him. Lex   
knew that Clark was still good and so he ignored the protests of staff who asked him   
that they be allowed to inject the enraged patient. Lex informed them that Clark was   
not violent and ordered them to allow him time to grieve no matter how much damage   
he did to property, he was only to be restrained if he turned on people and then Lex   
would be the one to administer the drugs, only as a last resort. Lex knew that   
whatever destruction Clark did was replaceable, unfortunately parents were not.  
  
------------------------------  
  
Lex wondered if Clark was weak from the drugs or the emotions of the day but it was   
worrying that 45 minutes after his outburst the young man had collapsed into the   
middle of the floor in a heap of exhaustion. Only then would Lex, or Dr. Luthor as he   
had advised the staff to call him, let the other people in to deal with the mess. He   
asked that they leave Clark to him and was glad to see that his title wielded some   
power when they did as he asked.  
  
Clark woke to a gentle hand stroking through his unruly hair, it was slightly longer   
than he had kept it in High School but there was not something as important as a   
barber in a secret government lab, they didn't think about things like that. He opened   
his eyes and saw that he was in a new room, better furniture than before as if it was a   
bedroom in an apartment rather than a cell.  
  
"Where…?" He began, his voice tight and his throat sore. He remembered the fit and   
the rage and assumed that he had screamed again, usually they would have subdued   
him a lot sooner than they had…in fact he did not remember any injection at all.  
  
"You're in my study, or at least an extension of it." Lex said. "In Metropolis." He   
added as an afterthought, not sure to what extent Clark's disorientation stretched.  
  
"How…?" Clark tried, this time Lex placed a cool finger on his lips and shushed him.  
  
"There is plenty of time for questions later, the first thing you need is rest." He said.   
Clark reached for him and Lex felt a familiar tightening in his stomach as the arousal   
threatened to take place, instead he brushed Clark's hair gently from his forehead and   
placed a kiss on there, a kiss that he tried to make as familial as possible. He had said   
once that Clark was like his little brother and he hoped that he could keep that   
pretense now. "I have some calls to make, I'll be here when you wake up."  
  
And for the first time in a long time Clark managed to fall asleep without worry and   
more importantly without the drugs that they had filled his system with.  
  
---------------------------  
  
To Be Continued…  
  
Notes: Yep, it's angsty, but I like it that way. Thanks to all that have read this and   
reviewed already, I'm always wary of moving into a new fandom because you're   
never sure of the reception you'll get. I'm glad to say that this is a really friendly   
group and it's good to feel so welcome. 


	4. 4

---------------------------  
  
Part 4 - Moving out, Moving on…  
  
The next time that Clark woke up he was a little more aware of where he was. Being   
alone he had more time to survey his surroundings, doing what he had learned to each   
time he was moved and catalogued any possible dangers, for the first time in a long   
while he did not feel that there was a threat. Something inside him implicitly trusted   
Lex, although his father had remained sceptical where the older boy was concerned   
Clark had never questioned the man's integrity, Lex was no more to blame for being a   
Luthor than Clark was of being an alien. Certain things you were born with and   
certain things were instilled in you by parents or society, he only hoped that Lionel   
had not hurt Lex while he had been away.  
  
Clark took a few tentative steps out of the bed before he saw a silver platter laid out at   
the end of his bed on a table, there was a bowl of water and a jug and some fresh   
towels, obviously laid out so that he could wash and next to it was a pile of clothes.   
They were expensive and more to Lex's tastes than his own but the black trousers and   
white silk shirt, with matching black socks and boxers were a great change to hospital   
scrubs which Clark wore at the moment. Slipping out of the scrubs Clark washed   
quickly and pulled on the new clothes fast enough that he would not be caught in his   
change but slowly enough that he could savour the feel of the soft materials against   
his skin and the feeling of finally being completely covered again, he wondered if   
shoes were not provided to prevent him from leaving or if they were just more   
difficult to get hold of and decided that he would explore the room outside. X-ray   
vision allowed him to see that the room was almost empty, Lex sat alone with some   
papers in front of him and gentle jazz played in the background. As Clark gently   
opened the door he saw Lex turn completely and look directly at him. Clark felt in   
two minds as to whether he ought to go back to the bed he had been put in or if he   
should come out but Lex held out a hand and beckoned him to come and join him, as   
he did so Clark felt his first rush of freedom, it was the first time he had voluntarily   
left a room in a long while and even if Lex was still in control he knew that he had a   
level of freedom that he had not had before, in truth it was good to know that there   
was someone that was still looking out for him because Clark was not sure that he was   
equiped to deal with life on his own anymore.  
  
-------------------------  
  
Lex had left Clark to make some calls, calls that he thought he needed to make when   
he was planning on taking three months off of work in order to reintegrate his friend   
back into society. Of course he didn't even know if Clark would want his help, he   
was fully aware that he may have to monitor his progress from a distance but he was   
sure that given time Clark would come back to him, if only for a loan of money which   
Lex would freely give. Iris had yelled blue murder when he had told her of his plans,   
of course she had thought it was some whim he had that had caused him to take the   
personal time but he warned her that it was not her place to lecture him and ended the   
call. The board of directors had been easier, they had understood that he was taking   
time to finish his PhD research and that the biochemist's first love had always been   
science, Lex had enough people that he trusted running his businesses and was   
planning on keeping enough of an eye that he would still be around but would just   
delegate some of the work so that he could concentrate on his project.  
  
Lex had been relaxing with some plans for the labs he had recently acquired, a chance   
to turn them into a free research lab for aspiring doctors and chemists, when Clark had   
taken his first hesitant steps into the room. His friend had paused as soon as Lex had   
noticed him, stopping like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming car but as   
soon as he had held out a hand Clark had come to him and that was what worried Lex   
more. Clark was not as strong as he had once been, he was like a bright eyed puppy   
that had since been tamed by a cruel master; beaten into submission and left timid and   
afraid. While Lex was glad that it would make keeping Clark with him easier he also   
saw how easy it would be for someone else, or perhaps even a darker version of   
himself to manipulate the boy into doing what he wanted.  
  
Clark was sitting next to Lex on the sofa, his knees pulled up to his chin as he   
wondered what to do or say and the billionaire decided that as the older and more   
mature one he would have to take the moral high ground, making sure that Clark   
knew he was free to leave at any time and that he would not end up blaming Lex in   
the long run for denying him some freedom that he had coveted.  
  
"Clark?" Lex asked, the boy looked up, no longer looking his 21 years but instead   
curled up as if he was a tiny child away from his parents for the first time. "I want   
you to know that you're free to leave at any time." Lex began. "You don't have to stay   
and you don't owe me anything for getting you out of that place."  
  
"Don't you want me here?" Clark asked, his eyes tearing up as if Lex was stealing the   
basis of his entire world. Lex realised what a precarious position he was in, if he   
reached out and helped the boy he risked him growing far too dependent but if he took   
away the only thing that Clark had left right now he risked cutting the last string of   
the boy's sanity.  
  
"You're welcome to stay as long as you like, I just want you to know that you have a   
choice." Lex stated plainly, not wanting to show his fear or concern and using the well   
adjusted mask to cover his emotions.  
  
"Where else would I go?" Clark asked, his voice bewildered and Lex realised that the   
boy had nothing, there was nothing left for him now and for the first time Lex realised   
how close to Clark he really was, that he could relate to the pain that the boy felt at   
the loss of his parents and could try to at least help him deal with that. He needed to   
give Clark a good balance of space and support so that he did not feel crowded but so   
similarly he did not feel abandoned and alone. It was a challenge but Lex knew that   
he would fight hard to succeed, after all that was the true nature of a Luthor.  
  
"You want something to eat?" Lex asked as he felt his own stomach rumble slightly   
and he wondered when he himself had last eaten, he had a feeling that it would be   
even longer for Clark.  
  
"I don't have to eat." Clark said, his voice a little pathetic and Lex realised that this   
was not something he would have learned with the Kents, the family that always had   
freshly baked cookies and milk waiting for their growing boy. This was yet another   
cruel thing he had learned at the hands of his captors.  
  
"Do you want to?" Lex asked. "I'm going to get a steak with everything, but you can   
have what you like."  
  
"Anything?" Clark asked, his eyes lighting up like a small child at Christmas, a small   
child that was not a Luthor of course. Lex nodded as he reached for the phone, ready   
to order whatever Clark's heart desired. "Oatmeal and Raisin cookies, and milk."   
Clark said as a tear fell down his cheek. "Unless…" He began, wondering if he was   
supposed to order a meal.  
  
"Yes, I'd like a plate of Oatmeal and Raisin cookies, a quart of milk and a steak   
dinner." Lex said into the phone, Clark was surprised at this although he did recall the   
castle in Smallville and he was just beginning to remember that Lex was more   
powerful now than he had been then. He truly could have anything he wanted, and   
Clark knew that it was more than just food or money. Lex had the power to rule the   
world if he wanted to, he had always planned to do it by the time he was thirty and at   
27 it seemed he'd had enough power to make whoever had captured Clark bend to his   
will. For a moment Clark felt a little scared but then he realised that Lex was on his   
side and as long as it stayed that way he was safe and he had that power protecting   
him. With that he settled down and relaxed a little, enjoying the soft music that   
floated out of some invisible speaker and into the air.  
  
"Clark, do you want anything else?" Lex asked, but the young man was lost in another   
world, a small smile on his face and a look of almost contentment as he listened to the   
Jazz that Lex favoured. Lex realised that after four years of isolation even this was   
probably bliss and vowed to make sure that in the next months he would make sure   
that Clark not only enjoyed the simple things but managed to see how much the world   
had to offer, especially when you were one of the richest men in the world, or at least   
a friend of his.  
  
---------------------------  
  
Lex woke early the next morning, a habit of too many breakfast meetings and long   
days spent in Metropolis, he was so used to being part of the 24 hour culture that he   
hardly needed to sleep, faced with three months off he was sure that he could get used   
to lie ins again. He was surprised that he was in bed, he had expected to sleep on the   
sofa until he and Clark had decided where to go or what to do with their time off, he   
was far too preoccupied the day before to think about sleeping arrangements and other   
menial things.  
  
"Good Morning." He said as he saw Clark sitting in the corner, a blanket wrapped   
around his shoulders as he sat stiffly. "You want to tell me what you're doing all the   
way over there?"  
  
"Shhh…" Clark said. "There are people outside, moving, looking for something." He   
said before realising that maybe Lex still didn't know his secret.  
  
"It's okay Clark. It's just the servants, most of them work early in the mornings so   
that everything is ready for when I wake up. They won't bother us." Lex said, as he   
began to appreciate just how much work he had to do with Clark. "You get used to   
it."  
  
"Okay." Clark said, as he tried to allow his tenseness to ease just a little. Lex sighed   
as he stood up and got out of bed, he was still dressed from the night before and   
wondered how he had made it there after feeling so tired the night before. They had   
sat quietly as Clark ate his cookies and then drifted off to sleep, Lex had put aside his   
papers as he watched the young man sleep and wondered what it was like to be in his   
mind and what nightmares it was that Clark seemed lost in.   
  
"What do you want to do today?" Lex asked, Clark looked up at him, brown eyes   
meeting blue with clear question. It was a long time since anyone had given Clark a   
choice about anything where his life was concerned. "I thought maybe we might talk   
a little about the future, what you want to do and where to do it." Lex said. "Then   
maybe we can go out for a while or just hang out." Clark smiled at Lex's attempt at   
being cool, he had never really fitted in and now he was trying too hard. Lex returned   
his smile just happy to see Clark smiling again.  
  
"That sounds good." Clark said softly as he wondered how long it would take for him   
to get back to 'normal', his Mom had always told him that normality was relative but   
he just wanted to feel safe and free again, anything else would just be a bonus and he   
was sure that there was a lot that he had to catch up on as far as the world was   
concerned, he didn't even know how long he had been in that place. It would be one   
of his first questions to Lex when he was allowed to ask them.  
  
----------------------  
  
"I can't believe that it's 2008, that I was there four years…" Clark said as he paced the   
room. "I missed everything in my life, graduation, college and a whole lot more." He   
said. "They took that from me."  
  
"Clark, believe me, I'm angry too but you need to put this in perspective, you may   
have a hundred lifetimes ahead of you and in a few years this will look like nothing."  
  
"They *killed* my parents" Clark said as he reached for something to throw, his   
emotions were very near the surface and as he watched the vase fly across the room   
and strike the wall above the mantel he realised that the drugs were still affecting him   
a little more than he had given them credit for. "I'm sorry…" He said as he fell to his   
knees the anger subsiding into sadness again, Lex remembered a very expensive Ming   
vase of his father's he had broken just after his mother died and related completely to   
where Clark was coming from. Of course Lionel had seen fit to take the expense of   
the priceless vase out on the young boy with a thick leather belt, he was not going to   
do that to Clark as the younger man was going through enough self flagellation but he   
could empathise with the boy's anger.  
  
"It's okay Clark, we'll deal with this later. Maybe we should start small, like where   
you want to live?" Lex said. Clark's eyes looked at him with panic and Lex realised   
that he was being misread again. "I mean if you want to go back to Smallville or if   
you want to stay here in the city. I have a penthouse here or we can go to the   
castle…" Lex trailed off not wanting to give too many options but knowing that   
whatever destination Clark named he could have a property there within hours.  
  
"I…" Clark swallowed, he didn't think he was ready to face Smallville yet, it seemed   
too much like home and there were far too many memories tied to the place to really   
return there too soon. "Maybe we ought to stay in Metropolis, I mean, you have work   
and everything and..." He trailed off as he heard Lex talking into the phone, he was   
already making plans to have things moved to the Penthouse and to have a car pick   
them up. Clark was surprised at how different Lex's command voice was to the one   
that he was used to hearing and he began to realise that he knew very little about the   
man that he had called 'friend'.   
  
"Okay, that's a roof sorted out, next item on the agenda would be clothes." Lex said.   
Clark graoned slightly, not even wanting to think about having to shop he had hated   
shopping so much when he was a teen and even four years of isolation did not make   
the task seem any more pleasant.  
  
"Can't you just order me stuff?" Clark asked hopefully, Lex looked at him critically   
for a moment wondering if he was doing too much for the young man but then he saw   
the dread in Kent's eyes and realised that it was just the event of shopping he hated.  
  
"Why don't I show you one of the things you missed while you were…gone." Lex   
said as he took out what looked like a laptop and opened it up to reveal a computer   
many light years ahead of the last one that Clark had seen. Of course he had been   
used to the ones at school and they were a little behind the times but this was above   
even the top ones on the market when he had the accident. "It's got a wireless modem   
with hyperspeed download and it links you to just about every store in the city." Lex   
said as he placed it on his desk and indicated Clark take a seat. "So I guess the only   
question left to ask is 'Where do you want to go today?'"  
  
Clark stared for a moment at the machine in front of him, almost afraid to touch it in   
case he broke it. Lex touched the screen softly and it came to life, a split second later   
he watched as Clark smiled and reached tentatively to touch the keys. Within half an   
hour he had mastered the new system and Lex watched as he chose a few select items   
to put in his virtual basket.  
  
"Don't forget that you'll need almost a whole new wardrobe, I didn't think it was   
possible but I think you must have grown at least another inch." Lex said, Clark   
looked at him for a moment uncertainly and then added another few pairs of jeans to   
the total, Lex sighed, Clark was going to have to get used to being a little freer with   
money if he was going to be with Lex, 'as a friend', the billionaire's mind added   
quickly as he shook any nefarious thoughts out of his mind. After all the last thing   
Clark needed was to be let down by the only man left that he trusted.  
  
"Lex?" Clark asked a moment later, the older man looked over and saw the insecurity   
on his eyes. "Will I need suits and things, I mean, I'll probably have to get a   
job…although maybe I won't get anything that good without a high school   
certificate…" He said as if thinking out loud and Lex saw the small confidence that   
Clark had won drain from his body as he slumped defeatedly.  
  
"Okay, that's something else we'll add to the list, I am pretty sure that I can get your   
credits awarded and you were only a few months off graduation."  
  
"But Clark Kent is dead." Clark said and Lex knew that those were not his words but   
some put in his mouth by someone wanting to break the spirit of the man Lex had   
fallen in love with. Thinking on his feet Lex wondered how hard it would be to set up   
a story for Clark's absence and then he remembered something his father had once   
told him about using what you had. Lex had a man in the FBI after all, it would not   
be too hard to get a cover story.  
  
"No, he's just been in Witness Protection." Lex said with a faint smile, Clark looked at   
him dubiously before remembering that chances were Lex could have himself   
inaugerated as president with the right persuasion, of course he could get Clark some   
false papers that said that he had just been hiding for the last few years.  
  
What troubled Lex most was the look on Clark's face as he accepted his offer, not   
even arguing that it was wrong or that it was a waste of government funds. The old   
Clark had far too may morals to go along with something like Lex was suggesting, but   
now the other man did not even question it, reminding Lex of himself when he first   
started losing his conscience. He hoped that Clark would never get as far gone as he   
was.  
  
-----------------  
  
-----------------------------  
  
"So, this is the Penthouse home of the world's richest man…" Clark said as he walked   
around the large den area of the open plan suite. Lex had never really seen the   
apartment as anything but a place to rest while he was in the town, he had certainly   
never called it home, Clark walked around as if he was marvelled by the size but   
again it was not something that Lex had ever really stopped to think about. It was just   
a place to live after all.  
  
"You're room is on the left." Lex said, trying to think of a way to humour Clark as   
best he could. It intrigued him that one minute the boy seemed his normal self and the   
next he was more shy and uncertain than Lex had ever seen him. He hoped that   
things would get better now that they were somewhere a little more permanent, he   
hoped that Clark would put roots down and begin to rebuild his life.  
  
"Thanks." Clark said with a small yawn. "I might go to bed now."  
  
"Clark, you don't have to. There is a TV in the lounge room and you're quite   
welcome to borrow a book from my study if you want to read. Anything else just ask   
and I'll see about getting it for you."  
  
"I can go in your study?" Clark asked uncertainly. Lex smiled indulgently, it seemed   
that he had been right about the small things. Clark had just been offered the world   
on a platter and he was awed that Lex would allow him access to his study. Only   
someone as humble as Clark Kent could be that innocent.  
  
"Mi Casa es su casa, Clark, go where you will." With that said Lex went in to his own   
room and lay back on his bed. He wasn't really tired but he did wonder what Clark   
would do left to his own devices, a few moments later there was a small click and   
then the lounge was filled with the soft sound of the TV playing. Lex supposed that   
this at least was something that had not changed, as he lay back down he felt the yawn   
come and sleep take hold and he slept softly but peacefully with one less worry on his   
shoulers.   
  
-----------------------  
  
Over the next few days Clark seemed to settle well, Lex had not anticipated that it   
would be this easy although he was sure that there was something up, Clark did not   
sleep well and he was up late most nights watching re-runs of something using the   
excuse that he didn't need to sleep a lot and that he needed to catch up on four years of   
TV. It was only on the third night of their being at the Penthouse apartment that Lex   
found it was something different.  
  
Luthors usually slept lightly, it was something to do with the inbred backstabbing in   
their family or the part of their long history that meant they were likely to kill   
opponents in business or war in their sleep. Lex had long known he too was cursed   
with that particular gene. He was woken by the low whimpering at nearly two in the   
morning, it sounded almost like a kitten mewling for its mother. When he went to   
investigate, a loaded pistol in his hand for protection he was surprised to see that   
Clark was the source of the low sound. He was rocking gently on the sofa in the   
lounge room, the television playing some drama or other and he was sobbing as a   
child would. Lex put the gun down realising that this was not a battle situation,   
although he was sure a battle would be fought emotionally, and he wrapped Clark in   
his arms holding him as the cries continued. For a long time he just held the boy,   
allowing him to seek comfort in his embrace and it was only when Clark's tears   
subsided that he tried to question the boy.  
  
"Has it been like this every night?" He asked as Clark kept his face buried to the   
crook of Lex's neck. The boy nodded faintly and Lex stroked his hand over the long   
dark hair. "And you didn't want to tell me?" This got a faint shake of the head.  
  
"…thought you wanted me to be strong…" Clark said quietly, Lex sighed as he   
realised that he had not really dealt with emotions assuming that Clark would be open   
if he needed to be. Lex was not comfortable with emotional people, his upbringing   
had been cold and after his mother died… well the only other person to show him any   
human feelings other than fear or contempt was Clark and he too had died, or so he   
had thought. Lex Luthor was not the most ideally adapted person to help Clark come   
out of his shell but similarly he would not trust anyone else with the job.  
  
"I don't want you to be anything but you Clark." Lex said keeping his tone soft and   
soothing. "If you want to cry, then cry, if you want to laugh, then laugh. We all   
grieve in our own ways and no one's is better or worse than the others." Lex wasn't   
sure where the words came from, perhaps some therapist or guru that Lionel had sent   
him too after his mother's death, but they seemed appropriate for the situation. If he   
ever remembered which it was he would have to remember to send them a large   
cheque for their words, finally having some affect.  
  
They stayed that way until the early hours, each lost in their own emotions and taking   
the reassurance from the hug. There was still a long way to go, perhaps a longer   
journey than Lex had anticipated but he was sure that the healing began that night and   
perhaps not just for Clark, and as he drifted back to his room to sleep in that day he   
felt some strength that had not been there before. Neither of them was alone anymore   
and maybe everything would work out after all.  
  
------------------------  
  
To Be Continued soon…  
  
A/N: It started out angsty but I wanted some more happy chapters before the next big   
chunk of angst… 


	5. 5

------------------------------  
  
Part 5 - Decisions and Choices.  
  
They were eating dinner in the formal dining room when Lex first brought it up, they   
had been having dinner in this fashion every few days and now he thought that it was   
time that Clark at least realised that he had choices in life. The type of choices which   
involved something other than what colour socks to wear and what to eat for   
breakfast. The young man had been out of the 'hospital' two weeks and in that time he   
had remained with Lex, in the privacy of Lex's penthouse apart from one night at the   
lab. The only people that Clark had encountered were employees of Lex, the house   
staff and one of Lex's assistants that had ignored the warning that Mr. Luthor was not   
to be disturbed at home. Lex wanted to at least tell Clark that he knew he was   
avoiding being around other people and that it was something they would rectify   
soon, he also wanted to tell him that he was aware of Clark's 'gifts' and see if Clark   
wanted to do anything about them. He was willing to wait for the answers but some   
of the questions and issues did need to be broached.  
  
"Clark?" Lex asked as he took another mouthful of the delicious pasta that his cook   
had prepared. "How are the nightmares?" It was a simple question but it would start   
the conversation and allow Lex to know if Clark would tell him the truth. Lex had not   
been woken in a few days which was a good sign and Clark had not needed comfort   
in at least that long.  
  
"Okay." Clark said, he was still not as talkative or enthuasiastic as the old Clark had   
been. "I think it's finally beginning to sink in that I don't have to go back to that   
place."  
  
"Never." Lex said emphatically as he saw Clark's eyes tear up, the young man fought   
the tears and they did not rise and Lex saw some of the strength that he knew was a   
sign of Clark's healing, there had been some tears before that night but Clark knew   
that it was okay to be emotional, he was fighting it not to save face but to be strong.  
  
"Lex?" Clark asked, and his dinner companion smiled, it was so rare that Clark was   
the one that asked the questions. "What happened to the farm?" It had not been a   
question that Lex was expecting but it was one he could thankfully answer.  
  
"The debtors automatically inherited it in place of their repayments." He said,   
watching as Clark's face fell slightly. "It's okay Clark, I bought the debt when your   
father refused my loan. I wanted to do something to thank you for saving my life and   
we both know how stubborn Jonathan Kent could be."  
  
Lex felt himself tense a little at the admission, wondering if it would be wrong after   
all he was admitting doing something that he had promised not to and had done it   
while the Kents were still alive. That obviously didn't matter to the younger man who   
was not angry. In fact, Clark smiled slightly, obviously a good memory of his father   
and Lex was glad that they had at least spent enough time together for him to fondly   
remember the man he had called Dad. Lex did not have that luxury and his old man   
was still alive.  
  
"What did you do with it?"  
  
"Well, the land is farmed as your father would have done it, just with a few more   
modern machines to do the work of that old tractor you had to fix all the time but the   
house is pretty much the same as it was before…" He stopped there but Clark nodded   
as if he understood and Lex was glad that he had not had to voice the words. "Did   
you want to go out there, take a trip to Smallville?"  
  
"Not yet." Clark said a little too quickly but Lex did not comment, he knew that the   
boy would deal with his pain in his own time and that he would go visit when he felt   
it was time, whether that be in two days or two years Lex didn't know but he was glad   
that the house was there when Clark would need it. He had kept it to remind him of   
the family that he had so nearly been accepted by but now it would stand as   
something for Clark, both as an asset and as a memory.  
  
"Any ideas what you do want to do?" Lex asked, trying to keep his tone casual. Clark   
shrugged. "Well, maybe we could start small. I notice that you're not too eager to   
venture out on your own. Perhaps we could visit some friends or something." As he   
said the words he was reminded of Chloe Sullivan and realised that he had not told   
Clark. "Clark, Chloe…she…"  
  
"It's okay. I know. They told me some stuff…" He said softly, the anger clear in his   
voice. "I think they wanted to show just how powerful they were when they told me   
about that."  
  
"I'm sorry Clark." Lex said, not sure why he was apologising when it was not his fault   
but because it felt like the right thing to say.  
  
"It's okay. Maybe we could go out to see Pete, I don't know where he is, they never   
told me, but I'd like to know what he is up to."  
  
Lex realised that he didn't know much about the Ross boy either, he hadn't kept in   
contact with any of Clark's friends from Smallville after his supposed death but   
suddenly he was very interested in at least finding out where the other man was, if   
only for Clark's sake.  
  
-----------------------  
  
Lex was almost glad of something to do when he started planting a paper trail for   
Clark's alleged stay in Witness protection; it was relatively easy to find an isolated   
place to say that Clark had been staying and to make sure that the only person within   
the area (a survivalist that had been camping since returning from the Viet Cong) did   
not talk to anyone about the empty log cabin that would be Clark's 'safe house'. They   
also had the added bonus that Clark's farm boy upbringing meant he could have quite   
easily have survived a few years in the wilderness being a capable hunter and   
fisherman. Clark agreed that it was a good cover and Lex even set up fake documents   
to look as if Clark had taken his GED via correspondence course, what was not   
obviously apparent of course was that the company that awarded his certificate was   
one owned by LexCorp. Lex was sure that it would be enough layers that if anyone   
started doing any digging they would not find the truth and of course if they did he   
had it set up that he would find out about it and have enough time to deal with them.   
  
Clark was more aware of his current predicament and seemed happy that Lex was at   
least dealing with where he had been, or at least a lie behind which he could hide to   
explain where he had been. He knew within himself that he had to look to the future,   
he had wasted too much time already to think of wasting any more grieving over what   
he had lost, he needed to get on with his life and he was glad that Lex was there to   
help him do just that. If nothing else at least he had someone watching his back.  
  
With the background laid down and their stories straight Lex began to plan the trip to   
see Pete Ross, it was surprisingly easy given that the boy had not moved far from his   
Smallville roots. After college he had married his roommate's sister and moved to   
Metropolis to get a job as an intern at a large PR firm. In high school he had been a   
minor league player in the big boy's team and now it seemed he was no different. Lex   
was sure that Pete Ross was one of those people that would only ever make it to   
middle management and would be quickly and easily forgotten were he to ever reach   
the heady heights of the executive floor. The truth was that Pete was a middle of the   
road type of guy, but he would be happy being average - his current life showed that.   
Lex's private investigator had found the man easily, his suburban house on the   
outskirts of Metropolis where he lived with his wife and twin babies had been   
publically listed and he was registered to vote in the same place. Lex was pretty sure   
that he would remain the rest of his years in that same neighbourhood because there   
were some people that still managed to live that version of the American dream.  
  
Lex wasn't sure that it was something that Clark would want to see, the happy family   
life that he would always be denied, but then the young man had asked for just that, a   
chance to see the friend that he had left behind. He just hoped that after four years   
things were not too difficult for the young man.  
  
They took the trip to the suburbs of Metropolis on a sunny Wednesday afternoon,   
early enough that they would not hit the traffic but late enough that they would not   
beat Pete home from work. Lex's investigator had discovered that the PR intern took   
a half day on Wednesdays to spend with his family and the billionaire had decided   
that this was the best time to visit, at least that way if they needed it they would have a   
few hours. The ride was quiet, Lex realised that it was the first time that Clark had   
been out for any length of time and watched as the young man stared out at the   
features of the city as tjey drove by, Lex cursed himself for having decided to drive   
himself rather than taking the Limo and enjoying the sights with Clark but he so   
rarely got to drive the cars he owned that he wanted this oppurtunity. At least they   
were in his convertible porsche.  
  
The neighbourhood was as Lex had expected, quaint, friendly and stuck in a 1950's   
timewarp that reminded him of the forgettable film where the world is locked in Black   
and White…except this was Metropolis not Pleasantville. Clark though seemed to   
like it and it made Lex forget his cynicism as he wondered if part of the suburb's   
charm was not that it reminded people of the small towns they had grown up in.   
Maybe there was something left of the small town boy in Clark after all. They got a   
few strange looks as they pulled up in a two seater Porsche and Lex assumed it was   
because it was not a people carrier or a sensible car that most of the neighbourhood's   
family men would drive.   
  
Clark seemed a little apprehensive as they slowed to a halt and Lex reached over and   
squeezed his hand reassuringly, Clark accepted the gesture and squeezed back in   
response before taking his hand back to open the door. As they approached the door   
way the younger man slipped back and Lex was glad to see that the boy wanted him   
to take charge, things would go a lot more smoothly if he were in control.  
  
--------------------  
  
  
Kirsty Ross heard the doorbell as she was settling the twins for a nap, Clark looked up   
at his mother and smiled as he heard the sound, the mother of two was glad that Petey   
was asleep already, he was the more boisterous of the two twin boys. She left the pair   
in their cot and went to answer. Her first response was to blink her eyes clearly, then   
she pinched herself lightly to check that she was not dreaming, the final test was the   
deep laugh that she heard from the man she was sure that she was imagining on her   
doorstep.  
  
"Mrs. Ross?" He asked as he held out his hand as if to shake hers. "I'm…"  
  
"Of course, Mr. Luthor. Would you like to come in?" Kirsty said as she wiped her   
hands on her jeans, the palms lightly coated in sweat as she began to wonder what she   
had in the house and how exactly you entertained one of the world's richest and most   
elegant men.  
  
"Please, it's Lex." He said in the voice that was made to make women melt. She could   
feel herself gently wilting as he did so. Lex had to give this woman credit (and in   
doing so Pete for choosing her) she barely looked flustered to have him at her door.   
  
"Is Mr. Ross home?" Lex asked using his same deep voice.  
  
"I'm sorry, of course. Peter…" She said, using her husband's full name even though   
she never felt the need to before. "Come in." She said as she stood away from the   
door, it was only when Lex took a step into her house that she noticed the shy young   
man behind the billionaire and she signalled for him too to join them. As Lex made it   
fully into the foyer Pete came around the corner.  
  
"Honey, what is…Lex…" He said, the statement almost contemptuous as he   
recognised the older man. "What do you want?"  
  
  
"Peter dear, whatever is the matter?" Kirsty asked politely, wondering what it was that   
had caused her usually laid back husband to sneer at a man that was so goodnatured,   
she was sure that it was not jealousy but there had to be something behind it. Pete   
glared at Lex who seemed to take it in his stride, used to dealing with men that were   
much more sinister.  
  
"Pete?" A voice asked from behind Lex, soft and uncertain and oh so familiar. Pete's   
face changed in an instant from hate to hope and then to confusion.  
  
"Clark…?" His voice asked as it wavered, on the verge of tears. "How can…?" He   
asked before finding himself engulfed in a hug from the man that was still taller than   
him and yet a little thinner than he had remembered. "But you're…you're…"  
  
They hugged again before Pete finally let go, believing that he was not dreaming as he   
had done so many times in college and that his best friend was really here. He felt the   
tears fall as he cried for all of the times he had missed the boy and the fact that he was   
back. Not even caring how it was impossible, just caring that it was real.  
  
"Would someone like to tell me what is going on here?" Kirsty asked, her confused   
ire making Lex smirk.  
  
"I'm sorry." Pete said as he regained some composure and shut the front door behind   
them and beckoned Clark and somewhat reluctantly Lex into the living room.   
"Honey, this is Clark."  
  
"You mean…"  
  
"Yeah, little Clark's namesake." Pete finished with a smile, he would have to explain   
later to his best friend that he had named his son for them. "And my best friend from   
high school." He added with a smile that made Clark smile too, he had always   
considered Lex his best friend back then but it was good to know that Pete had never   
stopped thinking of him in that capacity, although it also made him feel a little guilty.  
  
"And Mr. Luthor?" Kirsty asked, more interested in him than the man that had   
apparently risen from the dead Pete noted, he hated that Lex still had that affect on   
women, hell, probably on most people that he met. "How do you know him?"  
  
"You could say that we grew up together." Pete said with a smile. "Although judging   
by the stories we still read it is debatable whether Lex ever grew up." He added,   
Kirsty was offended at her husband's remarks until she heard Lex's smooth laughter,   
that at least took the edge off it, knowing that he had taken it as a joke.  
  
"We knew each other when we lived in Smallville." Lex said by way of explanation.   
Kirsty smiled with interest and Lex realised that she was playing the good hostess, he   
however did not want to play obliging guest and did not elaborate, instead allowing   
Pete to ask his questions of Clark and watched as the other young man came more out   
of his shell, even when he told their concocted story of where Clark had been.  
  
They stayed for supper, with Kirsty apologising for her lack of breeding and Lex   
politely telling her that he missed the simplicity of a home cooked meal and Pete and   
Clark working through their years apart and old memories of high school. They met   
the children and Lex made a note to find out about a trust fund or something for them   
when he found out that Kirsty was planning two more, he wanted some gift that he   
could give although he was not about to become Uncle Lex. Finally they said their   
polite goodbyes with the explanation that they had to drive back to the city, Lex was   
tired and bored but at the same time relieved to see that Clark seemed to be genuinely   
smiling for the first time since he had 'saved' him, something that was worth   
cherishing. As they drove back into the city he watched as Clark again watched the   
passing attractions, he was a little worried until Clark finally spoke, a little surprised   
by the words that he heard.  
  
"Everything has changed." Clark said, his voice hollow as if he was only just realising   
quite how long he had been away. Then he looked directly at Lex, his gaze piercing   
and spoke again. "Everything but you."  
  
And as he took the last turn to the penthouse Lex was glad that he was the constant in   
Clark's life, that he could finally be of some use to someone. He wasn't sure that he   
had not changed at all but he supposed out of all those in Clark's life he was the one   
that had experienced the least dramatic transformation.  
  
"You can change too." Lex said helpfully but Clark sighed.  
  
"It won't be the same." He replied grimly and Lex knew that he was right, it would   
never be the same.  
  
"No Clark, it won't." Lex said as he agreed, not wanting to sugar coat it too much   
knowing that one of the things young Clark Kent had liked was that he was honest.   
"But it won't always be like this either."  
  
With that the evening was done, Lex didn't know if either of them would see Pete   
Ross again but he knew that at least Clark was coming to terms with his past and that   
this was at least something to build upon. After all once Clark had dealt with the past   
he could start building a future.  
  
------------------------  
  
To Be Continued…  
  
Thanks to all who've reviewed so far, let me know what you think or where you   
would like to see this going…  
  
Jez 


	6. 6

------------------------  
  
Part 6 - Getting Started…  
  
After the meeting with Pete, Clark seemed more open to suggestions of going out and   
doing things. Of course Lex wasn't sure how used to the real world he would get if he   
went out with him as most people treated Lex as if he were the second coming, or at   
least a member of royalty. Clark though seemed to want to get out more and Lex   
knew that he would not discourage it just because Clark begged him to go too. So   
when the flyer came for the Science Symposium Fundraiser, Lex found himself   
telling his secretary to book tickets, despite the fact that he had not been to a charity   
social event in more than two years. At least this way it would be something that they   
would both enjoy. The lecture was on mythology and the stars and Lex was pretty   
sure that Clark would enjoy it given his fascination with all things space.   
  
Clark was excited about going, he had smiled widely when Lex started to tell him that   
the tickets were booked and the older man was glad that he had made the   
arrangements as a surprise. It was an early evening event, organised so it would fit   
between luncheons and cocktail parties and Lex was sure that Clark would feel a little   
out of place so he was surprised to see Clark dressed in a suit when he returned from a   
Board Meeting that he had to attend. Lex had wanted to tell the board members   
where to go when they had called the meeting but he supposed that being the head of   
a multi-national conglomerate had certain responsibilities that even he could not shirk.   
Clark seemed fine with him going and he was more than surprised with the tailored   
suit that his companion for the evening wore.  
  
"Clark, you…" Lex said as he walked in to the lounge room and saw the dark suit that   
his friend wore.  
  
"Is it okay?" Clark asked insecurely, and Lex was sure that he would have to take a   
cold shower when he saw the younger man biting his lip uncertainly. It really ought   
to be a crime for one man to look so innocent and yet so naively good looking.  
  
"It's more than okay." Lex said as he tried to keep the desire out of his voice, even   
though his throat was dry at the sight of the young man that came across as so chaste   
and yet looked sinful. "I feel a little underdressed myself." Lex added to try and take   
some of the want from his statement. He had promised himself that no matter what he   
did or felt he would not make Clark uncomfortable around him.  
  
"You look fine." Clark said, although Lex wasn't sure if it was because he was paying   
him a compliment or just because the kid was raring to go to the Symposium. Lex   
decided that he would take it as a compliment and smiled, checking his pocket for the   
tickets and then beckoning Clark toward the door. He was determined that they   
would have a good night and from the look on Clark's face it was quite likely that they   
would have a good evening.  
  
The limo ride was an experience. Clark had only been in a limo once before and that   
had been with Lana back when he had still been trying to date her. This time it was   
different, not only because he was with Lex (who kept the divide between him and the   
driver up, unlike Lana) but also because they had driven for only twenty minutes and   
then overtaken another Limo so that they were at the front of the queue. Lex took in   
the crowds and wondered if there was a way he could have avoided this, but he knew   
that Clark was looking forward to the lecture and that there was no way of getting out   
of it now.  
  
"There is a lot of press outside." He said to Clark. "Don't worry if they take a picture,   
the worst that can happen is that we'll be in the society pages tomorrow, and it will be   
me they are talking about." Lex said as he squeezed Clark's shoulder reassuringly,   
trying to keep the gesture as familial as possible. Clark nodded and tried not to think   
of the last photographs that he had been subjected to, every angle had been taken and   
every detail catalogued in the compound. He shook his head to clear the image and   
then got out of the car, following Lex a few steps behind. Lex posed for a few   
pictures before stepping in, he avoided all of the questions shouted at him by the press   
although Clark could not help overhearing about the fertiliser plant in Tennessee that   
had closed and the fact that Lex was taking three months vacation. As they got inside   
Clark was too awed by the sights to think any more of the comments.   
  
It was not the science that amazed him so much as the finely turned out people, all of   
them dressed to the nines in clothes that would have cost Clark his entire life's worth   
of allowance and then some. He didn't think how much his own suit had cost because   
Lex had told him that it was hardly a drop in Lex's monetary ocean but Clark could   
see the irony of these people spending more on their outfits than on their actual   
contributions to the charities themselves.  
  
"You okay?" Lex asked as he watched the look that crossed Clark's face, one of   
wonder followed by what appeared to be amusement.  
  
"Yeah." Clark said. "Just thinking."  
  
"Good thoughts I hope." Lex said with a smile and Clark nodded. Lex was glad that   
Clark was happy.  
  
The lecture itself had been stimulating if dumped down, Lex supposed that in order to   
get a large number to attend they had to place it at a lower level, he was more of a   
pure scientist but he watched as Clark, who was a philosopher and thinker at hear,   
was awed by the true meanings of the heavens from the lecturer's point of view.   
Clark was taking in everything, from the elaborate holograms and projections that the   
orator used to the words that he was using and as the man spoke of gods from the   
skies Clark could not think of how what he could do, his freakish abilities and how in   
less cynical times how he could have been a God. The thought both amazed and   
terrified him.   
  
After it was over they stayed to mingle with the other guests. Clark would have rather   
just gone straight back to the Penthouse. Perhaps staying up late enough to discuss   
some of the evening's theories with Lex who had always involved him in stimulating   
conversation and seemed to have an opinion on everything back when they had been   
in Smallville.   
  
"I'm sorry." Lex said as he wandered into the hall and was almost immediately   
beckoned over to speak to someone. "It's a hazard of being my friend."  
  
Clark thought back to a similar visit he had taken with Lex, a museum opening, it was   
a long time ago and he could barely remember the exhibits but he did remember not   
seeing Lex for most of the night. At least this time around he had enjoyed the talk.  
  
"It's okay." He heard himself say as he pushed Lex gently to speak with whomever it   
was that wanted to speak to him so badly. "My Mom taught me to share my toys."  
  
Lex went off with a delicious idea in his mind about just how much he would like to   
be Clark Kent's toy before he stopped the thought, knowing that even entertaining a   
joke along those lines was dangerous, especially if he was going to quell his growing   
feelings for the boy.   
  
Instead of thinking his lascivious thoughts of being all dressed in leather and begging   
for Clark's attention he went to speak to Darren Goldsmith, an old friend of his fathers   
and the group that he was with. Lex just hoped that Clark was not mauled by too   
many well meaning dowagers with young daughters before he could get back. The   
boy was far too handsome to be left alone and far too young to be married off to an   
eligible frump.  
  
Clark had started on his second bowl of punch, enjoying the fruity texture and the   
slight hint of alcohol, when he saw her. A woman quite obviously trying to make her   
way over to him without being too obvious, at first he thought she might be flirting   
with him but then he realised that he was just sitting at one of the few half empty   
tables and that she walked as if her feet were sore. A few years before he would have   
blushed at the thought of a woman approaching him but recently he had been thinking   
other thoughts.  
  
"May I sit?" She asked, and the words sounded too formal for her less than upper-  
class accent, almost as if the words were alien to her mouth.  
  
"Sure." Clark said, not bothering to hide his own background. He was proud of who   
he was and he didn't care if they judged him for it, he was farm stock and that was   
nothing to be sneered at. "As long as you're not expecting a scintillating discussion   
about astrophysics or something. I'm not too well versed in advanced science." She   
smiled and took a seat, not really even taking much notice of him. In a way Clark was   
glad, he didn't really want to talk anyway.  
  
"Yeah, I don't really take much notice at these things either. If it wasn't for Perry's   
insistence I would have stayed home tonight." She said with a sigh as she sipped   
whatever it was she was drinking.  
  
"Is Perry your husband?" Clark asked, trying to remember the rules of etiquette that   
his mother had tried to teach him once, he was sure that there was a way to talk in   
high society but he couldn't remember what it was. He supposed just be friendly and   
don't mention politics would be a good one.  
  
"Oh God…" She began laughing, he wondered what he had said. "No…No…Perry is   
my boss." She said. Clark nodded and wondered if that meant she was a secretary, a   
mistress, an escort or a little of all three. Even with his rural background he knew that   
it would not be polite to ask that question. "And you?" She asked conversationally.   
"I saw that you were with Lex Luthor. Definitely a good prospect."  
  
Clark blushed a little but did not comment immediately. He wondered if she thought   
Lex was gay.  
  
"No, Lex is a friend." He said, hoping that it did not give too much away.  
  
"It's okay. I mean, purely between us, we both know that Lex Luthor is at least   
bisexual. His reckless youth shows that much, there were always rumours but a girl   
has to know what it takes to catch the world's richest man." She said, Clark looked at   
her speculatively but did not know quite how to react to that. If he denied it then he   
would look as if he was lying for Lex but if he lied and said they were together it   
would cause a reaction that he was not ready for and would spread untrue rumours   
about Lex's sexuality.  
  
"Oh come now Ms. Lane. We both know that the Sultan of Brunei is still richer than I   
am, and I tell you that rumours of my youth are vastly overstated." Lex said, Clark felt   
the strong hand on his shoulder and was glad of the support.  
  
"May I quote you on that?" She asked with a smirk. Clark realised in that moment   
that she was a reporter and he hoped that he had not said anything too much in that   
time.  
  
"Should I call Mr. White and ask for your job now?" He asked with a similar smirk,   
his somehow coming over as more sinister than hers. "After all I do believe that the   
recording device in your bag is a direct violation of city guidelines as well as a gross   
invasion of privacy." Clark didn't know if Lex had somehow acquired X-ray vision or   
if this was just a lucky guess but the blush on her face was all the answer he needed to   
know he had been duped and that Lex was right. A quick scan of her bag using his   
own super power indeed showed a small dictaphone that would fit into the tiny   
handbag that she carried.  
  
"I was just leaving." Lois said as she stood, her embarrassment clear in her beating a   
hasty retreat towards the buffet table and leaving them behind.  
  
"Ms. Lane." Lex said as she walked away, she turned to see him taking the seat next   
to Clark and watching him carefully she saw that he was smiling in a way she had not   
seen before. "The tape?" He asked holding out his hand. She snorted softly,   
mumbling something under her breath about his manhood and how small it was but   
she reached into her bag and handed over the tape anyway.  
  
To Clark it was just another show of just how powerful Lex was, and he was again   
glad that he had this man as his friend. With Lex Luthor watching his back he would   
not be crossed again and he knew that he would not be alone. If it weren't for Lex he   
would still be in that…place. Lex had saved him again tonight with Lois Lane and he   
knew that he never wanted to have Lex on the other side, as an enemy instead of a   
friend.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't know…" Clark began as the huffy Lois Lane stomped off, her tail   
between her legs because someone had put one over on her. Lex put a hand on   
Clark's knee and shook his head. As if telling him it was okay and that no apology   
was needed and Clark nodded in response, no need for verbal communication   
between them.  
  
"We should go." Lex said as he saw another group spot him, the last thing that he   
wanted was to be dragged off into some other conversation about something that was   
best dealt with by one of his assistants. He took his phone out of his pocket and   
called for a car, it was to meet them at the front in a few minutes. Then they crossed   
the room quickly, avoiding people other than to nod or smile as they went and headed   
for the door. As planned the limo was there to meet them as they stepped out into the   
chilled Metropolis evening. Clark leaned to get in and heard Lex's slight intake of   
breath as he bent to do so, and for the first time he wondered about what Lois Lane   
had said and began to question what it was that Lex wanted with him.  
  
Lex studied Clark on the way back, something seemed off with his friend. It was not   
that Clark was not often silent and stoic, in fact it was a change that had occurred   
since his ordeal, but this time Clark seemed troubled by something other than the   
imprisonment, almost as if it was the evening itself that had upset him and Lex could   
not help but question what it was that Lois Lane had said to him or worse if Clark had   
actually been attracted to the woman that could almost be an older version of Lana   
Lang.  
  
Clark was lost in thought and Lex was half right when he wondered if it was to do   
with Lois but it was not a fantasy about being with her, nor was it that he was   
distressed by something she had said, contemplative would be a better word. Clark   
had never really stopped to think about how he felt about Lex, he knew that they were   
friends but that had always been enough for him. In high school he had been too   
troubled with first coming to terms with his powers and then dealing with everyone   
elses and their problems with them to actually think about a serious relationship. He   
didn't even know which planet he was from let alone what his sexual orientation was.   
After his abduction he had never really thought much about anything like that, just   
surviving each day had been taxing enough.  
  
Clark thought instead about love, and lust. He knew that lust was something he had   
only really felt over girls, Lana Lang in all her unobtainable glory and the few girls   
that he had dreamed of, Britney Spears and Mandy Moore to mention two but then in   
high school he had not looked at men as a viable option because he had never really   
thought about it and it was certainly not something that he had been brought up to   
think openly about. Sure there was locker room stuff like towel flicking and eyeing   
the others to see if they had a bigger package than you but that was boys being boys,   
nothing else. So lust was out, he didn't really think of it like that. Which left love.  
  
His parents had been in love, very much in love but before that his Dad had wanted   
Nell and had switched to his mother only when he found that Ms. Lang was sleeping   
with a Luthor behind his back, his Mom wasn't the pretty one but she was the smart   
one and she had accepted Jonathan for the man he was. His Mom had always told   
him that Love was having someone that loved you not in spite of your quirks but   
because of them, whatever that had meant. Then there was Lana, she had told him   
that Whitney made her feel safe, and loved and he was there for her. That was her   
definition of love. Finally he thought of Pete, sure in high school the footballer had   
his share of girls but Kirsty, the one he had settled for was a friend first of all. Pete   
had gone through the cheerleaders and gorgeous girls in High School only to settle   
with the one that had understood him and trusted him as you did a friend.  
  
So the definition of lover was a friend, someone you trusted, who made you feel safe   
and wanted and who would accept you for who you were. Not only that but someone   
who would be there and do things for you, often without being asked. A person that   
you could be the same for in return. Lex fitted all of those and even though Clark   
wasn't sure if he was gay he could fill all of the requirements, they had saved each   
other at different times and they had always been friends. That only left the sex thing   
and seeing as he was a virgin that was a problem that Clark would have to sort out in   
time, he assumed that Lex, at least the Lex he pictured in his mind would wait for   
him. At least for a little while.  
  
"Clark?" Lex asked, his deep timbre pulling Clark out of his musings. "You okay?   
You're pretty quiet."  
  
Clark turned to look at Lex and saw the concern that shined in the blue eyes. He   
smiled softly and reached for Lex's hand, he was spurred on when it was taken.   
Softly pulling Lex to him he paced a tentative kiss on the man's lips and was pleased   
to receive a groan in response, he gave it another chance, this time with a more firm   
press of lips, still relatively chaste but more recognizable as a kiss.  
  
Lex enjoyed it for a moment before his brain engaged and he pulled away. Clark's   
face fell as he took this as a rejection and he pulled away violently, glad that the car   
was stopping. Lex watched as the boy he had wanted for so long disappeared out of   
his life for a second time and he wasn't sure if he would see him again. All he could   
do was hope that Clark would come back on his own, because he had caused Clark's   
desertion this time and he wasn't sure that the younger man would come back. As he   
walked into his suddenly empty house Lex felt his lips and wondered what had caused   
Clark to kiss him, he really did wonder what was on that tape.  
  
------------------  
To Be Continued…  
  
Sorry, this would have been up a week ago but ff.net wouldn't let me in… 


	7. 7

------------------  
  
Part 7 - Stumbling blocks…  
  
Clark wasn't really sure where he was when he stopped running, he switched to walking not because he   
was tired but just because it gave him something else to do, something different and wherever he was   
no one seemed to be bothering him too much. He trudged along taking in the sights of the city and   
seeing for himself what it was really like to live in such a place. Seeing the places that were not   
marked on the tourist trail that he had followed as a child. He tried hard not to think about the kiss, or   
the look of confusion in Lex's eyes after he had pushed Clark away, it hurt too much to think on that so   
instead he thought over his time with Lex.   
  
Clark had been out of his prison for a few weeks now and tonight had been the first time they had been   
out in public together, he was sure that he could read the people that eyed him suspiciously, wondering   
what he was doing with the son of LuthorCorp and the hero of Metropolis. He knew that Lex was   
Metropolis' golden boy but now he had seen it first hand he wondered if it would be so hard to fit in   
with that image, the Lex he had known was underhanded and devious but this one was more kind,   
gentler and more easy going. Clark didn't know if it was an act or if Lionel's deposing had caused him   
to be that way, it was this more than any other that had made him think Lex Luthor was the kind of   
man he could love. He wondered what it was about him that Lex did not want, or if indeed it was just   
that he was a man.  
  
Clark sighed, stopping in front of a small diner and checking his pocket for change, he felt the smooth   
leather of his wallet and smiled. That was Lex's idea, looking out for him as always, even though Clark   
never went out Lex had handed him the wallet one day with two hundred dollars in various bills and a   
credit card in his name with an undisclosed limit. He said that one day Clark might need to go out, or   
tip someone or just might want to do something extravagant and that he would need the money to do it   
with. Now he was glad of the gift because it meant he could buy the hot cup of coffee that he craved   
when he saw the lights on, just a drink and some time to consider his options Clark mused as he took a   
seat and waited for the waitress to come to him.   
  
He was the only customer and she smiled politely as he sat at the counter and ordered a coffee. She   
poured him one before returning to the magazine she had been reading and Clark was glad of the time   
alone. Lex had told him that he needed to make some decisions about the future and he realised now   
that the other man had been right. After all, he could not sponge off Lex for the rest of his life no   
matter how many times the billionaire told him that he could stay as long as he wanted. If Clark stayed   
too much longer Lex may resent him and that was the last thing that Clark wanted, especially given the   
thoughts and events of that evening.  
  
Taking out a pen and reaching for a paper napkin Clark began to write a list of things that he wanted to   
accomplish, at least he hoped that he would end up with a list by the time he had finished, he at least   
needed to think it over.  
  
Two cups of coffee and an hour and a half later Clark stared down at the list he had made and realised   
that he was a little preoccupied, because all he had written other than 'think about future' was 'apologise   
to Lex'. He assumed that this would have to be the first priority because other than that he had no idea   
what he wanted to do and it was not something he had ever really given a lot of consideration. He   
supposed that was because now he actually had a future to plan and he had never dare hope for that   
before.  
  
---------------------  
  
Lex had been waiting up for Clark, a glass of expensive Brandy in his hand as he waited for the boy to   
come back. He didn't know what had happened but as he listened to the tape he had confiscated things   
became a little clearer. Thanks to Lois Lane he had lost his one true friend, the person that had gotten   
the closest to knowing him, for a second time. Clark must have thought that Lex had wanted him for   
something other than friendship and felt the obligation to act on it because of what Lex had done.   
While he wanted nothing more than to take Clark in his arms and make love to him he had long since   
realised that there was nothing more than friendship there and was trying his hardest to suppress his   
feelings for Clark in order to save the friendship that they were rebuilding. Just to be around the boy   
would have to be enough and he had lasted three years of it in Smallville before the 'accident', to have   
him back in his life was more than the billionaire could ever have hoped for.  
  
Lex wasn't sure how long he waited, nor how much of the vintage Brandy he had drunk, but the next   
thing he was aware of was that it was getting light and that he was lying on his bed. He had no   
recollection of how he had gotten there but there was the fresh smell of coffee brewing in the Kitchen   
and he was sure that he did not have any staff at the Penthouse, at least not now Clark was with him.   
The boy was too shy to be around others all the time and he had sent them away because he wanted   
Clark to be comfortable here, even if it was only a temporary home. Lex could hardly believe his eyes   
when he saw what, or rather who, walked through the door.  
  
"Good morning." Clark said brightly, as if he had slept like a baby the entire night before. "I'm sorry   
for last night, but I brought you a cup of your favourite Colombian blend as a peace offering."  
  
Lex took the proffered coffee and smiled as he took a sip of the sweet coffee, the only one he found   
that was full-bodied enough not to need any extra sugar in it. Clark took a step forward and sat on the   
edge of Lex's bed, making the older man shudder slightly at the thought that Clark was in his bed.   
'ON…on his bed' his mind corrected sharply as he felt the beginning sweep of arousal spread through   
him. He felt a soft hand take his coffee away and he was about to protest when a soft kiss was placed   
on his lips.  
  
"Clark…" He tried to protest as he pulled back. "We have to talk."  
  
"I know you want me, Lex." Clark said, his deep voice sending chills down Lex's spine as he advanced   
on the older man. "I can smell the arousal, hear your heart beating faster and see the way your pupils   
dilate. I'm not an expert but I'd say that's wanting me."  
  
"Clark, I do want you, but…"  
  
Clark took another kiss, enjoying the taste of the lips and getting less nervous as he kissed Lex again,   
his confidence building as he got more experienced. At least the kissing was not too difficult to grasp   
and it turned out not to be too much different with men as it had been with the few women he had   
kissed.  
  
"You don't have to do this Clark." Lex said as he pulled away a third time. This time fighting his   
hardening cock as well where the man that was now straddling him; looking at him in that sweet and   
innocent way and surpassing any wet dream or fantasy that Lex had ever had about the innocent farm   
boy. "I've wanted you for a long time and I can live without it."  
  
Clark pulled back uncertainly as he looked at Lex, this time his eyes telling the truth of the fear and   
confusion that he faced.  
  
"I don't know if I can. Live without it I mean." Clark said truthfully and this time it was Lex that   
reached for him, taking his lips lightly and trying to convey in that one kiss all of the love and   
protection that he could give. Lex was a man of few words and he hoped that the kiss showed in   
actions what he could not articulate into language. Clark moaned softly as an old but familiar feeling   
passed through him, something he had not felt in a long time. Had not dared to feel for a long time.   
Arousal and need.  
  
"That's enough." Lex said as he pulled away, thanking the gods for whatever willpower he had left   
especially when he heard the slight whimper from Clark at the separation.   
  
Clark looked up at him, confusion and fear in his eyes as he wondered if Lex had just humoured him.   
  
"It's okay. I've just waited a long time for this and I don't mind waiting a little longer." He said, Clark   
wanted to interrupt, but Lex continued. "I don't want to push you Clark, and I think that if we carried   
on I might forget that." He said. "Now pass me my coffee before it gets cold." Lex said changing the   
subject.   
  
Clark smiled gently, almost indulgently, and reached for the cup he had set aside. He was surprised   
when Lex shifted to one side of the bed and patted the other side for Clark. The younger man readily   
accepted and was glad that he was not pushed away when he leaned his head on Lex's shoulder in a   
kind of half embrace.  
  
Clark knew that this was only the first step and that there was still a long way to go both in their   
relationship and in his recovery but he had wiped off the most important thing from his list and the   
future did not seem so empty anymore. Not if he could keep Lex at his side.  
  
-------------------------------  
  
TO Be Continued. 


	8. 8

Part 8 - Facing the Future…  
  
The days passed quickly as the pair fell into a routine, they avoided celebrating Clark's one month   
anniversary of getting out, it was not an occasion that needed commemoration but there was a definite   
sombre tone to the day in question. They started a practice of spending time together, Clark would   
make breakfast each morning and take it to Lex's room where they would share whatever he had   
cooked up as well as a cuddle while Lex read the business section and Clark would look over the news   
of the day or attempt the crossword. After that they would get up and either go out to some museum or   
exhibit or Clark would read or occupy his own time quietly while Lex caught up with some business.   
Lex hated that but at Clark's insistence he had started back at least part time, dealing with those things   
that absolutely needed his attention. It would make his absence easier for the people that worked for   
him, Clark reasoned and it also gave them each some time away from each other, besides, Clark was   
not an invalid and despite his still frequent nightmares he wanted to appear strong to his would be   
lover. Their evenings were spent cuddled on the couch, watching television or with Lex reading to   
Clark, he had realised early on that his soon-to-be lover was soothed by the sound of his voice and that   
Clark loved to be pampered in the smallest ways. Perhaps it was the years of isolation and neglect that   
fed to a need for affection or just that Clark was more of a tactile person but Lex was willing to give it   
as far as he was able, he would give Clark anything that it was in his power to give because that was   
love.  
  
To Lex it was interesting that they were so close and yet not having sex, he had rarely if ever been with   
a virgin and now it seemed almost a learning experience for him as well as Clark. He had promised   
Clark and himself that first day that they would take things slowly, it was not only because he was   
waiting for Clark to be ready but also that he wanted to make sure that the boy's feelings were true.   
There was a theory that many hostages became reliant on their captors and while he was not keeping   
Clark prisoner he knew that the psyche of the Kent boy was so fractured that at some points he felt   
trapped and he did not want to be with Clark physically just because Clark thought that was the only   
way he could be in Lex's life. They shared a lot of physical affection because Clark needed the   
tangible evidence that he was not alone but none of it had gone further than kissing. Lex was almost   
enjoying the painful waiting for Clark because while it was driving him insane he also knew that when   
the moment came for them both it would be special. All he needed to do was make sure that he took   
plenty of cold showers and thought only pure thoughts. In ways Lex wondered if it was his own   
deficiency too that made it so hard to be with Clark, he had always associated physical affection with   
sex in the way that Clark never had. He could only hope that he would become more comfortable with   
the tactile responses that Clark had in the same way that Clark would eventually get more comfortable   
with the sexual nature of their intimacy.  
  
"Let's go out." Clark said during one of their lazy afternoons. It was a long time since Lex had seen the   
joyful enthusiasm on his friend's face and he wondered what had brought this on.  
  
"Clark?" He asked as he looked up from the business report he was trying to work on raising one   
eyebrow at the uncommon request.   
  
"I just want to go out." Clark responded, hearing the unasked question in Lex's tone. "I mean, you said   
that I could go out when I wanted." Clark added, trying not to let the panic creep into his voice even   
though it was working it's way into his subconscious. He was feeling trapped but did not want that to   
come across in his tone.   
  
Lex realised that this was Clark testing his boundaries, he assumed that it was a good thing. After all,   
if Clark was actually beginning to question his freedom he was truly starting to believe that he was not   
a prisoner, that he was a free man and as such that he deserved freedom of movement.  
  
"We can go wherever you want." Lex said as he looked at his watch, it was mid afternoon. "Well,   
within reason." Clark's face fell. "I can't get a helicopter for a few hours yet so if it's out of the state we   
might have to wait a while."  
  
This made Clark laugh. Trust Lex to say something so offhand about something so extravagant. It was   
the best way that the billionaire could show his feelings, with his wealth but Clark was more honoured   
with Lex's time than any trip, no matter what the price. To a Luthor who had billions of dollars to   
spare money meant nothing, but time was an expensive commodity and so it meant something when he   
gave it so freely.  
  
They ended up taking a trip to one of the many museums that the city had to offer, Clark was not that   
interested in the collection but being around people again was good for him Lex supposed. Lex found   
that it was relatively easy for him to go about unrecognised with just Clark at his side, a few people   
whispered to their friends or colleagues but everyone expected Lex Luthor to be at work this early in   
the afternoon, besides, he was on the board of the museum why would he visit it during the day when   
he could quite easily have a private show arranged at his convenience.  
  
The museum trip was pleasant, Lex spoke to Clark of the history of some of his favourite pieces, and   
Clark took in every word, enjoying the way that his lover's voice became animated when he spoke of   
some artefact or other that he had donated, or that he found of particular interest. To be honest he   
could have been reading from the phone book of downtown Metropolis and Clark would have taken in   
every word, as long as they were uttered in that soft tone and spoken to him. Lex's voice was just one   
of the many things he realised now he had missed during his captivity.  
  
"So…" Lex said as they stood on the steps of the museum and he reached for his cell phone. "Where to   
now?"   
  
Clark looked at him knowing that Lex was going to call for a car, but there was something that he   
wanted to do, that he had not done in a long time.  
  
"Can we walk?" Clark asked, somewhat uncertainly. It was probably a long way, they had been   
dropped off by Lex's driver because they weren't really sure where they were going when they had set   
out.   
  
Lex looked up at Clark, raising an eyebrow suspiciously, but merely nodded and slipped his phone   
away. It was Clark's day and he supposed that this was one way to see the city. He had never really   
experienced it by foot before, even when he was almost certainly too drunk to drive. It might be an   
adventure.  
  
"Do you know which way we're going?" Lex asked with an amused smile as Clark looked left and right   
as if he was lost before they had even started out. After a few moments Clark smiled as if he had made   
a realisation and looked up.  
  
"That way." He said as he pointed to a tower which stood above all of the others. Luthor Tower was   
the tallest building in Metropolis, it had given Lex the feeling that he was above every one else. Now it   
stood as a symbol of something else, something that made him feel even warmer inside. It would be   
Clark's compass so that he would always find his way home, that no matter where he was Clark would   
always find his way back to him.  
  
That thought inside Lex decided that it would be a good idea to walk.   
  
----------------------  
  
Clark was a few blocks away from the museum when he paused just to check that Lex was behind him,   
he turned and saw Lex walking a few paces back with his eyes lower than eye-level should be. Clark   
smiled.  
  
"Stop looking at my butt."   
  
Lex looked up guiltily as if he had been caught like a kid with his hand in the cookie jar and he   
supposed that he had. Lex knew that Clark was fast but he didn't see him pushing him into the alley or   
realise what he was doing until he felt the roughness of the bare brick wall against his back. For a   
moment he was worried that Clark had not taken his perusing well, then he felt the warm lips on his   
own and knew that Clark had more than liked the attention. The couple shared a few soft kisses before   
Clark licked Lex's upper lip, tasting it with his tongue and requesting entry for a deeper kiss. Lex   
moaned slightly as he felt his arousal rise and allowed Clark what he wanted. They were deeply   
involved in their kissing, not really aware of their surroundings because they were too lost in the   
fervour of their kiss.  
  
"Man, would you look at that, a couple of fags who think that they can stop and make out on our turf."   
One voice said, Clark pulled back from the kiss and felt Lex stiffen against him. It had been a wilful   
and reckless act and now they were going to pay. Clark tried to focus on how many there were, but as   
he felt a hand on his shoulder he realised that it was too late for checking the perimeter or trying to   
come up with a strategy. He had let his guard down and now he was going to have to fight blind if they   
were going to survive.  
  
"Yeah, couple of poofs who want their asses whooped." Another voice said, Clark turned to see who   
was standing behind them and was glad that while they were built there were only four of them. At   
least that narrowed down the chances that Lex would get hurt.  
  
Without thinking Clark grabbed the one who still had a hand on his shoulder and threw him against one   
of the others, using his super strength he was able to knock them both unconscious as the other two   
advanced. One was ugly and was obviously used to fighting (or losing) as he had a scar on his left   
cheek, the other was tan, and carrying a knife.  
  
Scar came up on Clark's left while the knife wielding yob took his right side, they were trying to   
surround him even though only two of them were left standing. Knife boy lunged and moved to get   
past Clark and towards Lex, it was a mistake he would regret as he felt his arm thrust upward with an   
audible snap as the bone broke. He dropped the knife in pain and reached for his arm, not liking the   
fact that it was losing feeling from the iron grip that their supposed victim had on him or that the   
appendage was bent in an unnatural position.  
  
"Let him go." Scar said as he reached for Lex, this time thinking he had the man's weakness, the   
wheedling lover that he must enjoy manhandling. At first Clark was scared, he spun around, taking the   
man with the knife with his and unintentionally aggravating the broken arm as he did so. He was about   
to let go when he saw Lex's arm snap back in an underarm swing and hit Scarface in the groin, forcing   
him forward.  
  
"Thanks for caring but I can look after myself." Lex said with a smile. "Now put your little playmate   
down so we can get out of here." He said, pretending to chastise Clark as if he were the one in charge.   
Clark took one look at the man that was doubled over, clutching at his groin where Lex had hit him and   
then looked at the man that he still held, dangling from the now bruised and broken appendage. He   
dropped the one that had carried a knife and pushed the other on top of him. Not noticing the groan   
from both as one hit the floor too close to the other and jolted his already sore body.  
  
Clark wanted to get them away from there as soon as possible, his nerves shattered as he wondered   
what would happen if they reported them both. Lex Luthor was hardly a difficult man to spot. He sped   
them away from the area, pulling Lex close to him as he did so, barely noticing when he had taken off.  
  
"Erm…Clark…?" A worried Lex said as they rose above the skyline at a very fast rate.  
  
"Cool." Clark said as he realised that he was flying, something he had always theorised that he would   
be able to do. "I always thought I would be able to fly, I just never tested it."  
  
"That's great." Lex said dryly. "But do you think you could set us down somewhere soon. I might not   
have mentioned this before but I have a thing about heights."  
  
"Oops." Clark said as he saw the Luthor tower building up ahead. He set them down on the balcony to   
the Penthouse and waited a moment before setting the now slightly green Lex down at his side.  
  
"Well, at least we have an alibi. No one could travel that far in that small amount of time." Lex said   
with a laugh. He remembered some obscure reference to a highwayman in England that had used the   
same excuse, crossing the country overnight by horse in a journey that was supposed to be impossible.   
Clark was less amused and suddenly realised what he had done. His parents had always warned him   
about using his powers against other people and now he had done just that. His entire childhood had   
been geared around never hurting others and he had forgotten each of the well taught lessons. He was   
a freak but he didn't have to be a mutant one like those in Smallville, his powers were for good not evil.   
He was not supposed to hurt anyone, even if he was protecting someone he loved, the police and courts   
dealt with Justice not him.  
  
"Clark?" Lex asked worriedly as he saw the young man stalk inside, almost seeing all of the good that   
their day out had done drain away in an instant as the boy retracted back inside himself and went off to   
the bathroom where Lex could clearly hear the sound of retching. Clark never got sick, he was the   
picture of perfect health, which meant that whatever it was that had made him vomit was something   
that had occurred. Lex thought it over quickly and wondered if it was the violence, the flying or his   
reaction to both that had made his lover ill. Taking a deep breathe he headed inside. There was after   
all only one way to find out.  
  
Clark was not in the bathroom when Lex got there, instead he was curled up on his own bed, wrapped   
around a pillow in a foetal position. Lex tapped on the door gently but was not surprised when he got   
no response. Clark was used to his own space, Lex never entered the boy's room without permission   
and he would not start now. It was a hard decision to keep though when his lover was sobbing deeply   
into a pillow and he was not able to cross the invisible threshold that kept him out.  
  
"Clark?" Lex called softly. "I don't know what it is that upset you but whatever it is we can work it   
out."  
  
Clark seemed to shake his head as if disagreeing but Lex could not hear the soft mumblings of the boy.   
He wanted to go to him, to hold him and be there for him but more than being afraid of encroaching on   
Clark's private space he was afraid of the rejection from the younger man.  
  
"Okay, well, I'll stay here until you want to talk." Lex said as he leaned on the door jam, not wanting to   
go in. "You know that I won't come in to your room but if you want me I'm here."  
  
"Why?" Clark said, sitting up abruptly and allowing Lex to see his already red-rimmed eyes and his   
hollow expression. Lex raised an eyebrow, questioning exactly which 'why' it was that he was   
supposed to answer. "Why would you want to be here? I'm a freak. No one wants a freak."  
  
Lex had not realised how much of this insecurity Clark still held within him, he thought that if anything   
the younger man would be more aware of his powers given the tests, he assumed this was something   
else that they had to thank to government scientists for. Just another of the long list of failures that they   
had toted up when taking Clark Kent prisoner.  
  
"You're not a freak." Lex said as he hovered in the doorway, wanting to break his own rule so that he   
could go to Clark. "You're one of the kindest and most gifted people I know Clark. You have honour   
and integrity and I love you." The last words had slipped out, unbidden by their speaker but they   
seemed to be what Lex wanted to say.  
  
"My parents loved me and it got them killed." Clark said, his voice hollow and empty as he fought for   
some semblance of meaning to express what it was that he was feeling inside. Lex went to his lover,   
the rule forgotten as he needed to be with him, not being able to stay away any longer. He didn't know   
how long Clark had carried this guilt but it was going to eat away at him eventually and Lex did not   
want that.  
  
"I love you." Lex said as he wrapped Clark into his arms. "Your parents loved you, but it's not your   
fault that they are dead." Lex said. Clark shrugged but Lex knew that they had more work to do before   
Clark would be ready to accept it. He did all that he could and held his lover, hoping that this way   
Clark would know that he was loved and begin to accept the truth that Lex already knew.  
  
--------------------  
  
TBC… 


	9. 9

Part 9 – Facing Reality  
  
Clark woke from the nightmare glad that he had not woken Lex. It was not the first night that they had   
spent together (although it was the first in his room) and he did not know whether he preferred nights   
when his nightmares woke Lex or when they did not. Now he was glad that he was alone with his   
thoughts as he had a few things to deal with alone.   
  
Lex loved him, on a logical level he knew that, and yet there was another part of him that did not want   
to believe it. All the people that had ever loved him were dead, his parents on Krypton, his adoptive   
parents on Earth and even his best friend Chloe. The dream had been a little different this time, rather   
than his parents in the car the day that they were pulled over by soldiers it was Lex. Clark knew that   
Lex loved him and that meant that Lex was going to die.   
  
Hadn't that been what Cassandra had tried to tell him? He would kill all those that he loved. It was   
probably a good thing that he was not a large part of Pete's life, after all he had a family now and Clark   
did not want to kill them.  
  
There was only one thing to do. If he was going to help Lex live he would have to leave him, make   
sure that he was not around to hurt the man or to allow the secrets that he now knew to lead to Lex's   
death. Instead he would sort out the things that he had to, maybe build up enough of a defence that he   
did not have to worry about people knowing about his powers and also deal with the past that still   
haunted him. That way he would be able to concentrate fully on loving Lex, on being the man that his   
parents had wanted him to be, but mostly making sure that no one else died because of his powers.  
  
-----------------  
  
Lex woke alone. He was surprised to be in Clark's bed and not his own, until he remembered the night   
before. A chill ran down his spine as he wondered where Clark was, a quick scan with his normal   
senses told him that things were too quiet, Clark hated silence so he would have the television, or radio   
or something on while he showered or got breakfast. That meant that Clark was no longer in the   
penthouse, perhaps given his new powers he was not even in the city.  
  
Lex took a few deep breathes, trying to calm his nerves and think logically about this. He knew that   
Clark was still around somewhere, having seen the test results it was almost impossible to kill the   
young man with any weapon known to man, the only people that knew his weakness were either dead   
or in Lex's control.   
  
It was the thought of the experiments that Clark had endured that reminded him of the internal tracker   
that had been implanted into Clark's neck, he would not remember that it was there but with the right   
codes it allowed Lex to track the man wherever he was. The army had used it in case their valuable   
commodity ever escaped, or if they ever managed to get him to work for them they could use it to make   
sure that he followed orders. Lex was not that mercenary, he knew that he could use Clark as his right   
hand man, allowing him to bend the world at his will, but he was not that type of man anymore.   
Clark's initial disappearance had made him want to be the type of man that Clark would want him to be   
and he would continue in that vein.   
  
He could use the tracker to check that his lover was safe, and once he knew he would not check again.   
He had made sure that Clark knew that no matter where he was he was free to come and go as he   
pleased and that had not changed. Lex only hoped that one day Clark would return to the city, or at   
least would return to him. He didn't think that he could face life without Clark now that he had been   
given a taste of the forbidden.  
  
-------------------------  
  
Clark had spent a while just flying around the city. He knew enough to stay below radar, not wanting   
to scare anyone with his newly gained power, while still trying to get to grips with soaring through the   
skies with the freedom that he had only a few months before never dare dream of. It seemed ironic that   
his incarceration had clipped his wings before he had even learned to fly, now he wanted nothing more   
than to spend the rest of his life here.   
  
The problem was he knew that there were more important things to deal with first. He could not keep   
Lex waiting forever and there was a few things that he had to do. The playing at his new powers could   
wait until after he had done the other things on his list of aims for the future, a list which had grown   
beyond showing Lex how he felt. Now he had some clear goals to achieve he had a little more purpose   
and hoped that it would allow him to grow from the boy of yesterday to the man of tomorrow; the man   
that he had always been destined to be. 


	10. 10

Part 10 - Revisiting the past…  
  
Walking into the Kent Homestead was almost eerie, Clark knew that Lex had bought out the mortgage   
before his parents had died and looking at the neat fields and gathered crops it was almost as if nothing   
had changed. Yet as he walked around he noticed subtle differences that to the trained eye told him   
that things were out of place. The tractor was not the old one that his father had sworn at or that Clark   
had learned to bench press, it was not even a familiar red, instead it was a gleaming piece of machinery   
that looked out of place in the memories Clark had of his former home.  
  
As he left the yard and stepped inside he saw the unnatural stillness of the house and took a breathe,   
expecting to be met with a stack of unpleasant smells or feelings, the anticlimax of walking into the   
house and seeing nothing was a shock.  
  
It was the emptiness that hit Clark hardest, the floors were clean, polished as they would have been   
when his mother was alive and the furniture, although covered in plastic, was clean as ever, but there   
was no familial noises, no laughter or groaning about waking up early and no smells of cookies baking   
or pies for the Talon. The building was still the same place he had grown up in but it was as if this had   
ceased being his home.  
  
As Clark explored he found that the house had not really been disturbed and while he assumed that Lex   
had a cleaning company or security company looking after the place there was no real sign of any   
inhabitants. In fact it was as if the house had been in a vacuum, no dust or dirt to indicate a passing of   
time, no real signs of the outside world, and a definite touch that nothing had changed within the void   
that this house seemed to represent.  
  
In his parents bedroom there was still hair in his mother's hairbrush, a mousy colour that told him it had   
to be hers instead of his father's dirty blonde. There was a bottle of the expensive Metropolis scent that   
his father had ordered his mother one Christmas that she told him was too nice to use and the shaving   
equipment that his father used was still out in the bathroom, something that his mother had always   
shouted at her husband for.  
  
Clark's room too was unchanged. Posters of his childhood heroes and idols were on the walls, albeit a   
little more faded than he remembered and his clothes, now too small for his larger frame, hung in his   
wardrobe. There was the pictures of he and Chloe together, his collection of Lana pictures, and a few   
of he and Pete. The whole room spoke of his childhood innocence, crisp and clean as he had once   
been. Nothing seemed to have been disturbed, no one cared that his family had died, they had assumed   
that the creditors would collect up the personal belongings and pass them on. Clark thought that   
everything was the same, until he visited his last place on the list of haunts, the place that had once   
been his fortress of solitude.  
  
Sitting on the table where he had studied for many hours sat a vase of flowers, dead now from years of   
age but they had been there when he had left. There were also a few candles around it and a book that   
Clark did not recognise.  
  
Not being nosy but rather inquisitive Clark looked down and saw that there was a pile of messages,   
things that his friends had wanted to say to their dear departed friend. The football team who he had   
thought hated him had signed one page and another was left over to all of the girls that he had known   
as friends. On the third page was a message from a fellow pupil at the school that had shared his fate.  
  
Clark,  
  
I don't know why but I feel cheated that amongst the amount of weirdness in Smallville we lost you to   
a simple car crash. It seems almost too normal for all of the unexplainable occurrences we have   
figured out together. I can't really bring myself to believe you're gone, that you won't be there to cheer   
me on at graduation, or to take me to the final prom like you always promised you would. I'm not sure   
which religion is right, but it's as if I still feel you with me so I know that you're out there somewhere.   
Wherever you are, whatever you are doing I hope that you never forget that we loved you, that you   
were a gift in the lives of more than just your parents and that you touched us all.  
  
Love Always,  
  
Chloe.  
  
Clark felt the tears well at the voice from beyond the grave, Chloe who had loved him so much that she   
had given her life trying to find him, even in her grief being the mother hen that he had always chided   
her for being and worrying about him in whatever after life he was supposed to be in. As Clark closed   
the book he realised that it was his graduating yearbook, Smallville, class of 2004.  
  
Clark sat back in his chair as he had done so many times in his teenage years and began to wonder what   
his life meant now. He was in his childhood home but it was clear that there was nothing left for him   
here.   
  
His parents were gone, buried in a small patch outside in what had once been his mother's garden. A   
memorial stone (he supposed paid for by Lex) announced "Martha and Jonathan Kent. Loving Parents   
and friends. A love that will survive eternity."  
  
Chloe was dead, Pete and Lex had both moved into the city and moved on and the only other person   
that he had cared about in high school was Lana. After seeing her he was sure that he would not have   
to remain in Smallville for much longer. He decided to get that visit out of the way before he   
contemplated his future any further, after all, he had to deal with the past in it's entirety, even the most   
painful elements, before he could plan for the future.  
  
--------------------------------  
  
  
Clark had taken a detour via the high street and was surprised to see that the Talon was now a smart   
internet Café, with no signs of Lana inside. Lana Lang, a kid in town told him, lived in the same house   
that she had shared with Nell. At least the address that the high school boy gave him was the same.  
  
Clark arrived at the house and was surprised by what he saw, the garden was not overgrown but looked   
unkempt as if little attention was paid to it, and children's toys covered the front lawn. Broken cars and   
plastic soldiers lay strewn about the place as if they were the victims of some childish war, or a game to   
the same effect. It was clear that Lana had children, a thought that made Clark smile as he thought of   
the two babies that Pete and Kirsty were bringing up, one with his name. As he walked up the stairs   
and past the porch swing, Clark saw a small child come barrelling around the side of the house,   
whooping and calling as he chased a smaller girl.  
  
"Mummy, Mummy…" The girl shrieked, loud enough to make the screen door bang as she took the   
first step. A tired looking woman opened the door and Clark let out an audible breathe as he realised   
that this worn-out woman, with bags under her eyes, no make up and choppy hair that looked as if she   
had cut it herself was the once very well kept Lana Lang.  
  
"Ricky, stop tormenting your sister." Lana said, a quiet voice of resignation as if she knew that the boy   
would not listen to a single word she said. This was not the Lana that he remembered at all.  
  
"Lana?" Clark asked, she turned at her name, slowly until she saw him and then he saw her eyes brim   
with tears. A haunted look appeared in them, as she checked over her shoulder and then she indicated   
for him to take the porch swing and then sat next to him.  
  
"So, Chloe was right." Lana said. No real hint of surprise in her voice as she did so. "She never really   
believed that you were dead and was always looking for some way to determine another explanation   
for your death."  
  
"She found one." Clark said with a smile, Lana did not return it.  
  
"Yeah." Lana said, although there was no sign that she was happy about Clark's return. "It's a shame   
she wasted her life trying to find the truth about yours." There was a hint of sarcasm as she spoke and   
Clark was surprised that she was being so callous. He wondered if it was because she was friends with   
Chloe after his death, perhaps with him out of the way the pair had bonded in a way that he had   
stopped them from doing while he was still around or perhaps they had been united in their grief.  
  
"LANA!" A voice called from inside. Clark watched as she flinched slightly, and stood to go back   
inside.  
  
"That's Whitney. He's awake. He'll be wanting a beer or something." Lana said, explaining it as if she   
was expected to wait on him hand or foot.   
  
Clark wanted to ask her what had happened, why it was she had ended up like this but he knew that it   
was no longer his place. His father had once told him that he couldn't save everyone and now he   
realised that it was true. Even if he had the means to support Lana and her children, to help her get   
away from this life, she had made it clear that she did not want help, at least not from him.  
  
"Please Clark, just go." Lana said, a tone of desperation in his voice. She knew that if he stayed then   
Whitney would get mad and when he got made things got broken, sometimes furniture and sometimes   
bones.  
  
"If he hurts you…" Clark began, but Lana's face turned from fearing to unyielding.  
  
"He's my husband Clark, and the father of my children. We're a family." Lana said and Clark realised   
that this was what she had always wanted, even if it was not as perfect as the world of the fairy princess   
she had once been, maybe it hadn't been that way since her parents died. "We have something that   
you'll never understand."  
  
And Clark supposed that he wouldn't ever get it. He knew what it was like to lose his parents, not at   
such a young age as Lana had but he had always had a loving family life and now he had a second   
chance with what Lex was offering. He would never be as badly off as Lana had been and would never   
stay with someone out of fear of rejection or worse the fear of being alone. Clark had spent three years   
on his own and while he did not want to relive that experience any time soon he knew that if he had to   
he would survive it. That was an awareness that Lana would never have. He also knew that while Lex   
was in the world he would never be alone again.  
  
With one last glance back at the picture of the dysfunctional family he turned his gaze back to the road   
and began to walk at normal pace back to the farm that had once been a much happier family home.   
When he got there he bypassed the house in favour of his fortress, he still had a little thinking to do but   
he was almost sure that he knew what he wanted to do with the rest of his life, no matter how much of   
it he had left. He would try to make up for some of his past, because even though he knew it was not   
his fault he wanted to do something to help.   
  
As he headed back to the house a smile formed on his lips. When he had been young his mother had   
told him that he would always be her hero. Maybe he could fulfil the role for others. He remembered   
the outfit that his mother had made him for one Halloween and with a smile wondered if with some   
alterations if it would still work. It was a little bright but he was sure that given a few extra touches he   
could rebuild at least one dream.   
  
Her little man, her super, speedy little man, that is what his mother had called him. Of course he wasn't   
little anymore, and speedy, well he could do more than run fast now, he could fly.   
  
"Superman?" Clark ran the word off his tongue to see if it fitted, he shrugged, maybe it would grow on   
him. Now there was only one other person whose memory he wanted to commemorate and he thought   
that he had just the way to do it.  
  
----------------------  
TBC 


	11. 11

Part 11 - Restructuring the Present.  
  
"Good Morning Mr. Luthor, we weren't expecting you this morning…" His secretary said, trying not to   
sound too flustered at the fact that he was not supposed to be there but had just turned up. Lex smiled.   
He liked to keep his staff on their toes and after such a long time away from the office it was good to   
see that his presence still caused a stir.  
  
"I heard some rumours about the board meeting without me so I decided to come in." Lex said,   
watching as his usually well prepared and organised secretary blanched.   
  
Lex had of course known about the meeting, and had even planned to be there via a video link but none   
of them were expecting him in person and that obviously showed as her face proved that they were   
already in the board room, no doubt talking about him behind his back. It would be good to test his   
employees loyalty, especially when he was building up to some more radical plans.  
  
"…and all I'm saying is that he ought to spend more time in the office…" Joe Davies said heatedly,   
obviously deep in some debate about him.  
  
"I agree." Lex said, allowing a smirk to spread across his face as the now ashen faced man that had   
been talking turned and began to stutter, although if it was disbelief or an apology Lex was unsure.  
  
"Mr. Davies is indeed correct that I am neglecting my duties as your chairman by not being here, a few   
of you will know that I was taking interest in one of our newest R&D acquisitions, however I have   
been monitoring progress the whole time I was away and have come up with a few proposals as to   
where I think we are going wrong…"  
  
With that Lex began a board meeting which listed a few changes that he wanted to make, expansion in   
some areas and a few job losses in others, but a rather radical overhaul of the entire corporation, at least   
changes that affected many different areas. In reality Lex had been planning this for a few months,   
even before Lana's fateful visit to his office and before Clark had come back into his life, but now he   
wanted to be sure that there was an efficient as well as consumer friendly LexCorp out there and he   
didn't want to do anything that would make Clark think again about being with him.  
  
"Mr. Luthor?" The executive asked him, he looked back and realised that he had been lost in thought   
for a moment, he continued his talk but was also aware that even when he was trying to distract himself   
with business Clark was always on his mind. He knew that he was in Europe somewhere, or at least he   
had been the last time he had checked but he wished he knew more than that, it was driving him crazy   
not knowing where Clark was.  
  
"…build a better future for us all." Lex said, finishing off his speech. "Now, if you'll excuse me   
gentlemen I have some other business to deal with. I'll let you discuss this amongst yourselves."  
  
And with that he walked out of his board room and headed for his office.  
  
"Mr. Luthor?" Iris asked as he headed for his office. "This came for you this morning, I was about to   
send it through but if you are staying…"  
  
"Thank you Iris, that will be all." Lex said as he took the pile of papers, a fax, some letters and another   
invite to some social function or other. He certainly did not want to party at the moment, not without   
Clark in his life.  
  
He hated that the young man had the power to reduce him into this wreck, this shell of the man he had   
been, and yet he knew that Love did that to you. He only prayed that the love would never turn   
because the last thing he wanted was Clark as his enemy, they would both lose if that were to happen.   
Lex shuddered at the thought that there was a universe somewhere where the two were bitter enemies,   
he would certainly not want to live that. He supposed that it was a good reason to clean up the rest of   
his company, he had not done very much underhanded dealing but now he vowed to do none of it. Lex   
Luthor had turned over a new leaf and it was not one from a seed that had fallen close to the tree but   
rather one that had bathed in the light and felt the taste of a Kent son.  
  
Lex smiled as he reached for his post. If he had not known before he would have known it was love,   
nothing else would make him come up with such flowery prose. When he looked down at the top of   
the pile he was surprised to see a photocopy of an article in Time about growing up and leaving high   
school and what it was like going back, it was only as he looked at the by-line that he smiled.  
  
"Life With Honours." By Clark Kent.  
  
So, the boy that had lived half of his life in the journalistic shadow of the big city girl had finally made   
a dent in the world of print. Lex had never questioned Clark's level of written ability but he knew that   
deep down there was some part of the boy that was doing this for Chloe. Clark whose own ambitions   
had been cruelly taken from him by an accident of birth that meant he was the one that had the powers   
to save the world. Knowing from a young age that he would always be different he was sure that Clark   
would not have built up any aspirations of his own, Lex knew how that felt. He didn't need to wait long   
for the proof that this was all part of Clark's plan to deal with the past and somehow make things up to   
Chloe.  
  
In the next morning's edition of the Daily Planet there was a two page spread on an exclusive story on   
the murder of Chloe Sullivan. It told of the talented journalist who had been killed by rebels while out   
on a story in Eastern Europe, it alleged that she had been too close to exposing a ring that smuggled   
women out of Eastern Europe and forced them into prostitution in the West. She had died for what she   
saw as a good cause, upholding the truth and the belief of a better world.  
  
The story depicted her as a latter day saint, someone that wanted to free the women who were kept as   
virtual slaves. It also went on to chronicle how using evidence gathered by Sullivan the writer of the   
story had broken the ring and brought the men behind it to justice.  
  
As he sat at his dining table eating breakfast Lex knew immediately that Chloe had no such evidence   
and that Clark, who was credited with a by-line (along with Chloe Sullivan - for her research), had   
done it for the respect it would gain Chloe as well as her ambition to be published in the Planet. Clark   
had no doubt used his powers and his intelligence to break the ring himself and uphold the ideals that   
he believed in, perhaps in doing so seeing some parallel between himself and the girls he was freeing,   
knowing that Chloe had given her life to save him and now he was going to dedicate his life to the   
journalistic ideals that she had upheld.  
  
Lex had set aside his paper and smiled. If Clark was working for the Planet then he was back in the   
city, at least Lex again knew he was safe. Maybe he could even manipulate events so that Clark would   
come back to him, but he would have to bide his time. He did not want to send Clark off again.  
  
---------------------  
  
Perry White had been dubious about this almost unheard of writer when he had walked into his office   
with a large story that he wanted to put on the front page. Kent was more than a rookie, he was still   
wet behind the ears, not even college educated the kid said that he had been 'experiencing life' for a few   
years before deciding to take up where his friend left off and writing up the story that had gotten her   
killed for her trouble. He'd had a few stories published in high school, juvenile stuff that didn't really   
count for much and then one story in Time, which while prestigious as a publication was hardly a   
decent CV for a kid of this boy's age, most of the unsuccessful applicants that Perry saw had portfolios   
six or seven times that size.   
  
Perry barely believed it when Clark told him he was only 21, there was a maturity to his writing that   
portrayed someone older, more bitter. But when the story checked out he knew that passing it up or   
merely offering the kid a freelance deal was not going to be enough. He was sure that the kid had real   
talent, it just needed moulding in the right way. So he had taken a chance and signed the young Kent   
boy on a six month contract. He had just the person to show Kent the ropes around the office and take   
some of the talent and shape it into excellent journalism.  
  
Clark sat nervously in his second meeting, he had never really expected to get this far, if the Planet had   
turned down the story his next stop was the Post, hoping that as Chloe's former employer they would   
have taken one the expose. Instead he was sitting in the Editor's office in the most prestigious paper in   
Metropolis and waiting to meet his partner. When he saw who it was he was glad of the minor   
disguise.  
  
Clark had not done much, only cut his hair a little so that it was as short as it had been in high school   
and put on a pair of glasses with clear lenses, he had hoped that they made him look a little older but   
really they made him look geeky. Nerdy was good he supposed, at least he would blend in more.   
When Lois Lane, the reporter he had met at the symposium came through the door he was worried that   
he had been spotted, after all she was known as a great investigative reporter. However when she did   
not even bat an eyelid he knew that he was home free.  
  
"No way Perry, he looks like some high school computer geek that forgot his braces and pocket   
protector. There is no way I am babysitting this kid, no matter what he's done for us." Lois said,   
having heard something about boosted ratings and higher sales due to the story. People were suckers   
for a good scandal or human story and this one had allegedly had it all. Still, as her old mentor had   
said, one good story does not make you a good reporter.  
  
"Look, Lois…" Clark had began, but Perry had held up a hand and done his protesting for him.  
  
"Lane, he's your partner, whether you like it or not." Perry White said sternly. "Now he needs someone   
to show him the ropes, and you need someone to rope you in. If you harass Lex Luthor one more time   
for an interview I swear that he will be down here with a team of the city's most expensive lawyers to   
take this paper apart a piece at a time."  
  
"Perry, I work alone." Lois said, trying in vain one last time to protest against the decision that had   
obviously been made a long time before she was introduced to this rookie. "And we both know that I   
would not have to harass Lex Luthor if he would give me an interview. He's in the public eye, he   
should be more open to the possibility of spending time in public."  
  
"The decision is final Lois." Perry said. "So I suggest you show Clark here to the empty desk next to   
your one and go over the story you're working on."  
  
Clark thanked Perry White and flashed his smile at Lois who grimaced and stared back at him,   
reminding him of Chloe in a few ways. He wondered what she would make of all this, he could almost   
hear her laughing at his having gotten talked into journalism despite not really knowing if it was what   
he wanted to do.  
  
After Lois had shown him her story, made clear that it was her story, and that he would have to find his   
own story, she left him to it. Feeling a little guilty that he was alone that night, perhaps his first in the   
city she turned back.  
  
"Hey Kent, where do you live?"  
  
"Smallville." Clark replied, without really thinking of his response. Lois snorted with laughter and the   
continued.  
  
"No, I meant where are you staying in the city." She should have known that on top of being stuck   
with a partner that she would get stuck with the one from Hicksville.  
  
"Oh. A hotel I guess. I hadn't really thought that far ahead." He said, not really having thought it out,   
having been in Europe for nearly two weeks investigating his story and Chloe's death, returning her   
body to Smallville for a decent burial as soon as he had found it.  
  
"I have a sofa if you need it." Jimmy, the trainee photographer that Lois had introduced him to offered.   
The younger guy seemed friendly, although he was also a little inexperienced.  
  
Clark looked down at the picture he had just placed on his desk, of he, Pete and Chloe on a friendlier   
day. He decided that he would take up the Rosses on their invitation to visit again. Despite what had   
happened last time he was sure that he should share with Pete first hand what he knew of Chloe's   
disappearance and maybe even offer his condolences for the loss. Perhaps even take Pete out for a   
drink in honour of their friend.  
  
"Thanks but I've got it covered." Clark said, Lois shrugged but was a little upset that he had turned her   
down. He was cute in an offhand kind of way, maybe without the glasses and with a bit less baggy   
clothes, but then she preferred her men already made, she didn't want one that she had to mould.  
  
She sighed. Oh, well, another night alone with a good book. She would check in with some of her   
Luthor sources too, it couldn't hurt to check.  
  
--------------------  
  
Lex was worried, he knew for sure that Clark was back in the city and yet his lover had not come back   
to his apartment. He knew that Clark was not his to own but he would have thought that the younger   
man would at least have come to him for a place to stay, or let him know that he was still alive and   
okay. Lex was pretty sure that Clark did not know that he had been tracking him, the sub dermal   
implant was something added while Clark was unconscious and even if Clark knew about it he must   
have known that it was only because Lex cared. He had been over every small detail of their time   
together since he had pulled the plug on the government's secret base and could not think of a single   
reason for Clark to be angry at him. Why then was the younger man not here, why didn't Clark want to   
be with him?  
  
Lex wondered if this was why his father had always told him that emotions made him weak. Since   
Clark had come back into his life it had certainly gotten a whole lot more complicated. Before he had   
been able to work without any distraction but now as he sat at his desk he felt guilty, as if he ought to   
be out looking for Clark, or being with Clark and yet knowing full well that the other man did not want   
him with him. Lex spent hours when he would once have been working just thinking about the way the   
light reflected off Clark's hair or the colour of those deep soulful eyes.  
  
Lex supposed that this confusing mix of torment and wonderment was what love was. No wonder his   
father had told him that he was not to trust his emotions they were complicating everything and if he   
did not pull it together soon his business would suffer, that was the other thing that worried Lex, as   
long as Clark was in his life he no longer cared about LexCorp. Maybe that was the real problem, he   
didn't want to stay at the office because he now had somewhere else he would rather be. What made it   
even more frustrating though was the fact that he couldn't really be there at all, because the place he   
was daydreaming about was just about anywhere as long as Clark was there too and Lex knew that   
Clark did not want to be with him. This always brought him back to the beginning as to why it was   
Clark did not want to be with him.  
  
"Mr. Luthor?"  
  
Lex wasn't expecting anyone so he was surprised when Iris called his name, he had specifically asked   
not to be disturbed unless it was important.  
  
"What is it Iris?" He asked, making sure to use his irritated tone so that she would know that this was   
not a good time but that he would overlook it on this occasion.  
  
"Mr. Smyth was just on the phone, Lois Lane has been asking questions again sir. He said that she was   
talking with a few people that told her they had information that you were retiring. I thought that you   
would want to know."  
  
"Who exactly did she talk to?" Lex asked, his interest piqued by this news and desperate for something   
more interesting to do than rhapsodise to himself about the beauty that he had loved and lost. "And   
what if anything did she find out."  
  
"Well, there was Mr. Davies on the board, but he told her she would have to come through this office   
for any personal or professional information regarding your work and she spoke to Mr. Daniels, one of   
the men that works in the Smallville Community Farm who told her that there was activity there last   
week. He also added that he thought you were planning on moving back to the mansion."  
  
"Thank you Iris." Lex said. "I'll take it from here."  
  
Hanging up but not replacing the handset Lex dialled the familiar number for the Smallville Farm   
Project that he had set up and spoke to the manager there, he asked that Mr. Daniels find himself out of   
work, perhaps due to the minor embezzlement that he had been committing for a few months, taking   
more in his pay check than he was entitled to. Then he rang Joe Davies and thanked him for his   
support, making sure to reassure the man that he was now back at work full time, at least until the new   
structure was in place and he had someone else to do the leg work for him.   
  
Lex decided that it was time that he gave Lois Lane a taste of her own medicine. Picking up the phone   
Lex decided that he needed to make one last call before returning to his work, or at least the pretence of   
work.  
  
"Dominic, It's Lex." He said as he heard the connection made, not even allowing the other man a   
chance to say hello.  
  
"What do you want?" The belligerent man asked, wondering why Lex was calling him after all these   
years of his being stuck in the payroll office after his demotion. Lionel had used him as a go-between   
and Lex had held him responsible for his actions when his father had been dethroned.  
  
"How would you like a chance of promotion, at least a temporary one. I have a job that requires your   
unique talents." Lex said, picking his words carefully.  
  
"Finally need someone that can outwit your opponents?" The man asked arrogantly.  
  
"No, I need someone that understands the devious mind to do some surveillance and I want there to be   
no connection to me. If you get caught you will tell people that you were working under orders from   
my father." Lex said, knowing that no matter what Dominic would take any opportunity to get back   
into the hierarchy at LuthorCorp.  
  
"What's in it for me?" Dominic asked, ever the mercenary he did not even question what it was that   
Lex was about to ask him to do. He was the type that would sell his mother for the right price.   
  
"I'll pay you $1000 a day plus expenses to watch Lois Lane, I want to know her every move and every   
tiny detail about her personal life. I want to be able to know what she likes for breakfast, how she takes   
her coffee and why she is suddenly so interested in the life of Lex Luthor." Lex said.  
  
"Do I get to know why you need this information?" Dominic asked, Lex paused a moment, wondering   
if he should tell the other man then decided that he was mellowing too much, there was no way that   
Dominic needed to know.  
  
"Just do the job and if I'm happy we'll see about getting you back on the ladder." Lex said as he hung   
up, as he did so he knew three things. One, Dominic would do the job like an eager puppy excited to   
please its new master; two, Lois Lane would get a taste of her own medicine and three, he had no   
intention of letting Dominic anywhere near the career ladder.  
  
With that taken care of Lex turned back to his work and picked out a new report on the restructuring of   
the company. Lex was pleased to find that he could actually concentrate on it, but he was troubled to   
see the suggestion that they shut down one or more of the fertilizer plants that he owned, Smallville   
being top of the recommended list. Lex had a certain fondness for the plant that had been his first   
acquisition on his path to greatness, he made a note to close two of the other factories and increase the   
size of the one in Smallville, there had been a downturn in the farming and they needed an injection   
into the local economy. Lex was not being sentimental, it was better to have one plant dealing with all   
of the output, it was good business sense. At least that was what he told himself.  
  
----------  
  
To Be Continued… 


	12. 12

-----------------------  
  
Part 12 - Building a Future.  
  
Clark had been at the Planet for a week when the advert for the apartment came up, of course he had   
cheated slightly in the fact that he had seen the proofs for the classifieds before they were published but   
he supposed that this was one of the perks for working for the papers, just as if he worked for a fashion   
shop he would get first pick of the sales items. And so for the inflated price of a thousand dollars a   
months he was the tenant of a one bedroom, one bathroom and one other room, apartment that while   
being a loft space had an amazing view of the industrial (and most criminal) sector of the city.  
  
Pete and Kirsty had offered him a spare room but they really didn't have the space with the children and   
Clark did not want to outstay his welcome when they were the only people that he knew in the city that   
he could spend any time with.  
  
Now he had moved in and settled Clark was even beginning to get used to the cramped space, it was   
not as if he owned a lot of things anyway so there was plenty of space for the few purchases he had   
made and the few items that he had brought from Lex's or Smallville. As far as decorating went it was   
easy to redo anything that he didn't like once he got used to doing the things at Super speed, in fact   
after a few mishaps involving some spilled paint and some broken brushes he had redocorated the   
apartment in a fraction of the time it would have taken a professional. He supposed that if the bottom   
fell out of the journalism market or he couldn't stick it as a journalist he at least had an alternative   
career to fall back on.  
  
He was two blocks from the Planet that morning when he heard the scream, turning he saw a woman   
being mugged, without thinking Clark sped after the mugger and grabbed the lady's bag. Pausing to hit   
the man unconcious and then dump him, bag and all outside the local police station. Clark knew that   
he was supposed to be more discreet, he definitely needed an outfit or costume so that people would   
think he was a hero not just a vigilante and he needed a theme, all of the heroes had one and he wasn't   
sure what his would be.  
  
Clark was fifteen minutes late for work and found a grumpy Lois already at her desk, it seemed that she   
was sure that someone was following her and she couldn't work out why. She had no proof but she had   
seen the same man around a few times, and someone had been unobtrusively going through her   
personal life, finding out about her likes and dislikes, interviewing her father and even going so far as   
to paying her snitches to rat on her.   
  
Clark too was worried, if they were following her then they were more likely to find out about him,   
they were really only partners at work but there was already a lot of innuendo about the two being more   
than friends. If someone was following Lois they may well start to follow him too and he did not need   
that. Clark vowed after that to be more careful. The last thing that he needed was another Phelan or   
Nixon on his hands.  
  
-----------------------  
  
Lex stared at the photographs that Dominic had laid out in front of him and tried hard to take in what   
he was seeing. Some were less than interesting, where Lois Lane shopped, what take out she used each   
night which suggested she was a lousy cook and the ones of her following some Senator that she   
thought was embezzling state funds; but others had Lex in a turmoil.  
  
"This is a shot with Lane and her new partner. He calls himself Clark Kent, I haven't found out a lot   
about him except he's new to the paper and they are partners, some of my sources say in all senses of   
the word." Dominic added with a suggestive leer that made Lex hate him even more than he already   
did if that were even possible. "Do you want me to watch him as well, it would cost you a little extra   
but it could give you a way in for… well, whatever this information is to be used for."  
  
"NO." Lex said, almost too firmly and too quickly. "No." He said, this time more calmly as he brought   
his emotions under wrap. "Keep on Lane but don't bother with Kent, he's just a nobody from   
Hicksville." Lex said, hating the words even as they came out of his mouth and knowing just how   
untrue they were.  
  
"Okay, you're the boss." Dominic said. "Is there anything else?"  
  
"No, just shut the door on your way out." Lex said. Dominic left, shutting the door behind him as   
requested and leaving Lex to ponder the pictures.  
  
If he had hated Lois Lane before then he despised her now, she had taken a lot of his privacy and now   
she was trying for his man too. Lex had to admit that Clark looked good in the glasses he had chosen   
to wear, maybe to disguise himself a little or just as a fashion accessory, but having the picture was not   
good enough for Lex, it made him even more determined to get back the real thing. He knew that he   
had to be patient but there was only so much even the most tolerant of people could take and he was   
about at the end of his tether. The question was, how did he bring Clark back to him without making   
the other man feel stifled?  
  
-------------------------  
  
It did not take Clark long once he knew that Lois was being followed to track down the culprit, he was   
good but not good enough for someone as paranoid as Clark. After years of being kept in the confines   
of a government lab Clark was so scared that he would be recaptured, despite Lex's papers and threats   
to the government that he had started to be extra vigilant, especially now that he was not living within   
the relative safety of Lex.   
  
Clark did not recognise the man but he could clearly see that he was a threat to Clark as he had   
followed him home. Clark had the man pinned to the wall before he could even stop to take whatever   
notes he was supposed to be making.  
  
Dominic knew that he was in trouble as soon as he felt the pressure at the point of his throat that was   
important for his breathing and continued survival, the part that if this man pressed any harder might   
just break under the pressure and suffocate him. If this guy didn't kill him then Lex would for having   
followed him rather than Lane but Dominic knew enough about Lane to know she was not a threat to   
Lex Luthor, not really, but he knew nothing about this man that had gained such a powerful response   
from Lex.  
  
As he breathed shallow breathes and tried not to black out Dominic wondered if this man was working   
for Luthor too and that was why he had to back off. He really wished that for once he had followed   
orders rather than his instincts.  
  
"Who are you and What do you want?" Clark asked, punctuating each with a slight addition of   
pressure, as if proving the threat that his sizeable frame and expression already promised.  
  
"I…I was just walking, I don't know what you want. Please, don't hurt me. Take my wallet or   
whatever but don't hurt me." Dominic said as if he were scared, trying the dumb approach, as it turned   
out it was dumb in more than one way because it earned him a blow to the head.  
  
"Now. Let's try this one more time. Who are you? Who sent you? And What do you want?"  
  
Dominic took a few seconds to tot up the pros and cons of telling the truth, just as a second blow was   
about to come, a raised fist telling him so, Dominic decided that his imminent survival was more   
important than anything that Lex might do afterwards. He opened his mouth and began to speak just as   
Clark decided not to land a second blow.  
  
"Okay, Okay… My name is Dominic Hunt, I used to work for Lionel Luthor. He had me looking out   
for his son and they thought that Lois Lane posed a threat to him. He wanted someone to check her out   
without Lex knowing so he got me to spy on her." Dominic said, remembering enough to tell the lie   
that Lex had told him.  
  
"You really do want to anger me don't you? Nothing happens in this city without Lex Luthor knowing   
about it, especially not an action that involves his father, now I want you to try one more time and aim   
for the truth this time." Clark said, trying to remember all of the tactics that they had used on him when   
they had questioned him after his capture. All of the threats and torture that they had used.  
  
"Okay, I don't work for Lionel Luthor, I work for Lex Luthor." Dominic said. Obviously this was a   
good enough answer as it caused the larger man to drop him. As Dominic fought for breath he thought   
that this kid was certainly strong for his age, he definitely looked as if he worked out. He hoped that   
this was a good enough truth to buy his survival, at least until Lex decided to kill him.  
  
"Lex Luthor had you spy on me?" Clark asked, a little amused, a little angry but also with a warm   
feeling inside him. Lex cared, albeit in an unconventional way, and he wanted to check up on him.  
  
"No. He wanted me to follow Lois Lane, I don't know why but when I saw the two of you together…   
he told me to stay away from you but I wanted to know why. I guess now I know."  
  
"Why?" Clark asked, genuinely interested in how he had given away the fact that he and Lex were   
friends, or maybe more or that he has some kind of powers that would need him to be avoided at all   
costs.  
  
"Well, it's obvious that you work for him too. I don't know what you do but he used to have agents that   
were powerful, strong and could kill you without getting out of their seats." Dominic said. "I swear, I   
didn't know that you were in on this too. Lex never told me that he had more than one person out there   
and I didn't mean to mess with whatever he has you doing…"  
  
Clark looked down at the whimpering, blubbering wreck, weak, he thought and wondered when human   
life had been less meaningful to him than before. Only that week he had been wanting to be a   
superhero, to live up to the ideals that he had thought meant something but now as he looked at this   
snivelling snake in the grass and thought of his time at the hands of his human captors he wondered   
why he should help them. What had they ever done for him?  
  
Clark turned and walked back to his apartment, knowing that Dominic would not follow him again,   
probably wouldn't follow Lois either. But he had more important things on his mind. The   
confrontation had made him realise that most of those he cared for were either dead or had moved on.   
He didn't really care about the rest of them, not in the way he once had. The ideals of truth and justice   
didn't really seem to hold much weight when he had been denied both and he even questioned if a lot of   
these humans even had any humanity in them.  
  
There was something wrong with that, this lack of caring, it was a nonchalance that he had never had   
and he knew only one other person that was like it. As Clark made it back to his small apartment, a   
place that he could not quite get around to calling home he knew that he was not going to find any   
answers alone. He wasn't sure if he even had the strength to fight this alone anymore. Instead he   
realised that it was time to go back to the one place that did feel like he belonged there and to the one   
person that would have the answers.  
  
He just hoped that Lex would let him back into his life.  
  
--------------------  
  
To Be Continued soon…  
  
Thanks to everyone that is sticking with this. 


	13. 13

--------------------  
  
Part 13 - A future together?  
  
Lex sat at his desk in his high rise office and wondered when it had become a prison. There was a   
time when work had been all that he had in his life, there was very few parties or social events and   
even when he did attend one or other of them he was usually there for business, either to gather   
information or to make a deal. Now he had tasted something else in his life the last thing that he   
wanted was to go back to the life without Clark in it, and yet that was what he was having to face.  
  
He heard the soft tapping almost as soon as it began but he ignored it, knowing that he was alone in the   
office this late at night and that it was not anything at this height other than the wind. Then it came   
again, a louder sound this time that drew his attention to the window, he half expected to see a Raven   
and yet there on his balcony, on the terrace that he rarely used was the one man he had just been   
thinking about. Without thinking Lex pressed the button on his remote control for the lights and doors   
and the lock undid immediately, allowing Clark to walk in to his office and take a seat on the other side   
of the desk.  
  
Lex wanted nothing more than to move around the desk and go to his lover, to hold him and never let   
go but he pushed that romantic notion out of his head as soon as he saw the cloudy look on Clark's   
face. There was something wrong and there was a hint in the back of his mind that he was somehow to   
blame.  
  
"I met Dominic Hunt tonight." Clark said by way of opening. Lex thought about a million things at   
once but all of them seemed to lead to the same thing. He didn't geta chance to voice the apology   
before Clark spoke again. "I know that he was not specifically following me but I didn't like it; I didn't   
like him."  
  
"Clark, I…"  
  
"I don't know who I am anymore Lex." Clark said, his voice barely above a whisper. He had been   
flying and thinking about it since he had attacked the other man and while he knew that Dominic was   
one of those manipulative people that always landed on their feet and had no morals he still knew it   
was wrong to beat him up.  
  
"Clark, what did he do to you?" Lex asked. Wondering how much he had to torture the man as soon as   
he saw him again, he would have him killed but from the look of despair in his lover's eyes death was   
too good for him. Lex had not seen Clark this lost since he had brought him out of that place.  
  
"I could have killed him." Clark said, his voice still soft, as if he didn't want God to hear the   
abomination of the words that he was speaking.  
  
"It's okay." Lex said, finally making his way around the desk to go to Clark, damn the consequences he   
could not bear to see his friend so broken. He made his way to Clark and took him in his arms, trying   
not to let the warmth that swelled in him spread to his groin and trying to provide Clark with the   
comfort he needed. Perhaps he should have gotten Clark the help he needed after all. "It'll all be okay.   
Whatever it takes, I'll get you through this."  
  
The words were like a balm to Clark because like a child believes in their parents who take care of   
them daily Clark believed that Lex really would do anything to make him better. He didn't have to   
fight anymore and he didn't have to worry because here was Lex, he was with Lex and he was finally   
where he belonged.  
  
"I want to go home." Clark said, his voice small like that of a tired child. Lex leaned down and kissed   
his forehead, helping Clark to stand and then surprised when Clark leaned in to kiss him softly. Lex   
allowed the kiss despite the fact that it was making him hard and he was sure that this was the last thing   
Clark needed.  
  
"It's okay Clark. I'll take you home right now."   
  
And Clark knew that Lex was telling the truth.  
  
--------------------  
  
Clark woke in a wash of silk sheets and embroidered quilt, definitely not his own ratty blankets on the   
tiny cot in his apartment. As he took in where he was he also felt a hand stroking through his hair,   
touching him as if he were an idol with the caress of reverence that he did not deserve. As he felt the   
long fingers move slowly down his face he knew that it was Lex and as memories of the night before   
came back to him fully he knew that he could relax because he was safe. He was home.  
  
Lex saw the fluttering of Clark's long lashes that meant he was no longer asleep but rather feigning   
sleep and moved slightly further down in the bed. He had been awake for a few hours just watching   
Clark sleep, taking in the sight of the other man and still not quite believing that he was here. Of   
course Clark had been exhausted the night before and though Lex was still not sure what had gone on   
he was pretty sure that it had hurt Clark and he didn't want that to happen again. He had put his lover   
to bed, with no intention of joining him there lest Clark think he was taking advantage but Clark had   
pulled him into the bed with him and snuggled him close, mumbling about this being right.  
  
"Morning." Lex said, slightly amused as Clark's nose twitched slightly. He leaned over and kissed the   
twitchy appendage, gaining him a laugh from the other man and making him smile widely in reply   
because after how dispirited Clark had seemed the night before he had not expected a smile or a laugh   
that morning.  
  
"Morning." Clark yawned. "Mmm… I could stay here all day." He said as he snuggled closer to Lex,   
obviously still sleepy and wanting nothing more than to cuddle close and forget the world outside.  
  
"Okay." Lex said as he placed an arm around Clark's shoulder, allowing the other man to lie almost on   
top of him and not complaining at the slight discomfort. He was shocked when Clark sat up   
immediately, searching for something. "Clark?" Lex asked, trying to keep the alarm out of his voice.  
  
"What time is it?" Clark asked, panicking slightly. Lex smiled, at least it wasn't the end of the world,   
he reached for his watch and looked at it casually. Noting Clark's frustration at how long it was taking   
him.  
  
"It's a little after nine." Lex said, Clark mumbled a few choice expressions that Lex had not even   
known the boy knew and saw as Clark flew out of the room that they had shared, obviously going to   
grab clothes. Lex was glad that he had kept the rest of Clark's things in the same place or he could   
picture his lover ripping apart the Penthouse to find something to wear.  
  
"I have to get to work." Clark said as he rushed back into the room to find something he had left   
behind, Lex wasn't sure what it was, he hadn't even moved from the bed. "I'm sorry, I…"  
  
"Clark, relax." Lex said calmly, the voice of complete relaxation. "I had Iris call Perry White earlier   
this morning. At the moment he thinks you're in a breakfast meeting with one of the LuthorCorp board   
members getting an exclusive on the restructuring plan." He said evenly "You've got plenty of time   
before they are expecting you back to work. You could probably take the whole day given the size of   
this story."  
  
"But I have stuff to do, a story to write." Clark said. He collapsed on the edge of the bed as if he had   
suddenly lost his burst of energy. Lex sat up, reaching over to pull Clark back down and then lay him   
on his back before leaning over to kiss him.  
  
"All in good time."  
  
Those were the last words between them for a while as they got comfortable and enjoyed just being   
together.  
  
After a leisurely breakfast Lex took Clark into the office. Clark had seen some of it before, the press   
suite and from the night before Lex's office but he had not seen the large Foyer, nor had he been here   
with Lex while there were others around.   
  
Clark was glad that Lex had dressed him in a dark suit and insisted on a tie, even though he rarely wore   
one in the offices of the Daily Planet. He felt more comfortable in the corporate office of LuthorCorp   
and LexCorp knowing that he at least fitted in with the décor even if he did not know what people were   
talking about when they stopped him or Lex to talk. Not since the science symposium they had visited   
on his first real trip out had Clark seen this many people that all wanted to fawn over or talk with Lex.  
  
"Mr. Luthor…" Another lackey called as they neared the elevators, Clark saw that it was going to open   
and pulled Lex forward, glad that the doors shut before the other man had a chance to stop Lex.  
  
"Thanks." Lex said and for the first time Clark saw just how that affected his lover. "Usually I come   
up the service elevator but I thought it would be quiet at this time of day. Plus I thought that you   
should get the dollar fifty tour." Lex said with a smile. Clark leaned over and gave him a brief peck on   
the lips. "For that, I'll even show you the executive washroom." Lex said.  
  
"Wow, you must be pretty high-status if they gave you your own key." Clark said, playing along with   
the joke.  
  
"Clark, they gave me my own bathroom." Lex answered dryly as they hit his floor. "Well, here we are.   
I just need to…"  
  
"Mr. Luthor. You had another call from Ms. Lane again this morning asking for an interview, and Mr.   
Davies rang to ask about the restructuring plans. He asked that you call him back sometime today." Iris   
said, interupting Lex's speech. "There is also a Memo about the downsizing of the fertilizer plants. I   
took the liberty of researching the relevant case files for you."  
  
Lex saw Clark stiffen as she said this and knew that he was thinking of Smallville. He hoped that his   
lover would at least wait to hear the truth before he jumped to any conclusions as to what Lex would do   
with the plants. They had come too far for a misunderstanding to ruin the potential future that they had   
built together  
  
"Thank you Iris. Would you bring coffee through for myself and Mr. Kent." He said, knowing that   
otherwise she would have a security check done on his companion just to satisfy her own curiousity. If   
she knew who Clark was it would save him a second investigation.  
  
"Clark?" He asked as he showed the other man into his office. "Okay. I was going to grab my mail but   
I suppose I should tell you something about this shake-up of LexCorp. For a start we're moving the   
fertilizer factory to Smallville, expanding where we can and streamlining it within the industry. Other   
than that it's mostly some facts and figures…" Lex said pausing as he heard the door to his office open   
and saw Iris come in with a tray.  
  
"Thank you." Clark said, using the manners that his mother had taught him well but earning him a glare   
from the woman who did not know him from Adam. She was obviously not good with strangers, either   
that or she was just mean and crotchety with everyone.  
  
"Iris, would you also prepare a dossier for Mr. Kent on the restructuring programme and the progress   
we have made so far." Lex said.  
  
"With all due respect Sir that's confidential information." She said, overstepping her bounds but Lex   
liked her and she was efficient, who cared if she voiced an opinion every now and then. It was so   
damn hard to find the staff that you could trust these days, you had to give them a little leeway in these   
matters.  
  
"Iris, Mr. Kent is a well-known reporter I know but he is not working on this story yet, he just needs to   
get a feel for it." Lex said, Clark smiled but didn't even know if he was on this as a story or an excuse.   
"Now would you kindly gather any information that he might require."  
  
"Of course sir." She said formerly, shutting the doors behind her.  
  
"Lex, what is going on?" Clark asked. "Why am I really here?"  
  
"Okay, I wanted to spend some time with you." Lex said knowing that admitting a weakness was   
wrong but that he was not going to get this any other way. "I told Iris to arrange it with Perry so that   
you had the day off to interview some of the people at LexCorp for an exclusive story you were   
working. He was a little dubious but I wanted to see you."  
  
Clark was silent for a moment and then he stood slowly and walked around to the other side of the   
desk, his face expressionless before he leaned down and kissed Lex. The kissing lasted a while before   
Lex pulled reluctantly away.  
  
"I want you." Clark whispered as he leaned in more, his eyes burning with desire and knowing that Lex   
was aroused too. Lex smiled wryly and stood, straightening his slacks and glad that he was wearing a   
loose fitting suit.  
  
"Later." Lex said, trying to make it sound like he really meant it. He didn't want to tease Clark but he   
wanted the other to get the story he had promised. He deserved a career of his own, and if this was the   
only way that Lex could help then he would do all that was in his power to give Clark the story. "We   
have to meet with the board and a few other people that might give you quotes." Lex said. "You are   
supposed to be working after all." There was amusement in his voice as he said this and he smiled   
when Clark grumbled.  
  
It was a good story though and Clark had heard Lois tell someone else on more than one occasion that   
he was going to work out an expensive one story wonder. Even with help this would still prove her   
wrong. With a new resolve Clark vowed to fight the burgeoning hard on in his pants and get the quotes   
he needed for a story. After all he and Lex could make out later.  
  
-------------------  
  
As Clark walked into the busy offices of the Planet the next morning he was surprised to see the office   
hush as he entered, then Perry came out of his office and Clark could see that he was anxious about   
something.  
  
"Kent! My office. Now!" He yelled. "The rest of you, get back to work."  
  
Clark knew better than to argue with that tone and made his way slowly towards the office, Lois glared   
at him as he passed and he wondered what it was that he had done wrong.   
  
As soon as they were inside the office Perry indicated for him to take a seat as he shut the door and   
then fiddled with the shutters on his blinds so that the plate glass between his office and the bull pen   
were completely covered. Then he made his way around the large desk and took his own seat. The   
large desk reminded Clark of Lex's office and thoughts of Lex's office made him blush - after all they   
had made out there for an entire evening and part of the previous afternoon. If it had not been for an   
early business meeting that Lex could not get out of he was sure that he would still be with his lover.  
  
"Kent, I want to be honest with you son, you bring a lot of high profile stories our way and you'll move   
your way up the ladder fast, but I don't appreciate being dictated to by anyone. Even if she is Lex   
Luthor's private secretary." Perry said.  
  
"I'm sorry Sir. Iris can be a little forceful sometimes but she means well." Clark said. "She was   
certainly a great help with my story."  
  
"Well, I'm glad. This business is all about the contacts you've made. I would have liked a little more   
notice about you going off to chase some story but I pride myself on giving my reporters enough   
leeway when they have something good for me at the end of it." Perry said with a smile. "So, tell me   
about this story…"  
  
"Well, I can't say too much but…"  
  
And Clark began to tell his boss a few choice facts about what he had learned the day before, twenty   
minutes later Perry White was sitting behind his desk, feet up and a cigar in his hand. He was   
impressed that the farmboy had done this well and he could see the advertisers and bosses of the paper   
smiling with glee when they thought about how they would scoop the Washington Post and the New   
York Times on this story. It was a worldwide exclusive and they at the Daily Planet would have the   
rights.  
  
"I'm impressed." Perry said. "People rarely surprise me Kent but I'm glad my hunch about you paid   
off. Keep up the good work."  
  
Clark took that as his sign to leave and walked out of the Editor's office with a guaranteed front page   
with solo credit for the story and a wide smile on his face, a smile that faltered as soon as he saw Lois   
sitting on his desk and rifling through some of his notes on another story he had been working on, the   
one that he had missed the deadline for because he was with Lex and the one he was supposed to be   
writing with Lois.  
  
"So, Perry calls me into his office yesterday morning and tells me that I'm on my own because my   
partner is off interviewing the board members at LexCorp who have a surprise announcement." Lois   
said. "Which begs the question why you didn't call me as soon as you got the lead. This partners thing   
goes both ways you know, it's not just me that has to share my stories."  
  
Clark knew that she was angry, he could see it boiling just below the surface but this was his story and   
he did not want to share it, especially not with someone like her who had made a career out of pestering   
his lover.  
  
"It was a private meeting. I had a friend pull some strings to get me the story and they agreed to meet   
if it was only me." Clark said. Lois huffed. "I'm sorry Lois but you have a reputation for playing dirty,   
especially where Lex Luthor is concerned and they couldn't risk this getting out before tommorow, not   
when something this big could affect share prices and their overall market share."  
  
"Are you saying that they didn't trust me with the exclusive?" Lois asked indignantly. Obviously   
resenting the implication that she was not a journalist that could be trusted. Clark had not mean it that   
way but it was true when he thought about it she probably would have used the inch they gave her to go   
for a mile.  
  
"Actually, I'm saying that Lex Luthor didn't want you on the story." Clark said, fighting the smile when   
he saw the shock that crossed her face. "Now if you'll excuse me I have a story to write."  
  
And with that Clark took his place at his desk and began to type up the notes that he had made the   
previous day, wanting to get a good story that would make his lover proud of him and glad that he had   
picked him to write the story.  
  
They knew that it was a risk, that by linking Clark Kent with those inside LexCorp that they could risk   
exposing their relationship but neither really minded, after all they had been forcefully separated for   
too long, now that they had time to spend together they wanted every waking moment together and if   
they could help each other out on the way, so be it.  
  
-----------------  
  
When Clark recounted his day at the office to Lex later that evening he was glad to see Lex laughing as   
he described Lois' offence at his words. Lex especially liked the part about him not wanting her there,   
if he had his way she would not even be anywhere near Clark. Lois Lane attracted trouble and despite   
knowing that there was only one thing that could hurt his lover he didn't want him anywhere near the   
kind of trouble she drew to her like moths to a flame.  
  
Clark had stopped by his apartment on the way home, thankfully his story was done and he had the   
evening free, he had picked up clothes, enough for a few days and planned to stay with Lex. They had   
been apart too long and it was time that they went back to being lovers, or moved things further than   
they had taken them already. At first Clark had been wary about taking a lover, about making love   
with anyone, but now he had at least in part consolidated his future he felt more ready to begin.  
  
Clark found Lex in his study that evening, they had shared a dinner together and now Lex was doing   
some work for the following day, Clark was the one that wanted some time alone that evening, at first   
he had needed to think but now he just wanted to see his lover again. He didn't know why he felt the   
need to assert his independence so often, perhaps because it had been taken from him at such a young   
age, however he did not want his insecurities to harm his relationship with Lex; not again. He still   
wanted to talk to Lex about his powers, he knew that he ought to help out the human race but he didn't   
much care for that and wanted to talk it through with his lover, but first things were first, there were   
more important things to discuss.  
  
"Lex?" Clark asked as he wandered in, trying to hide his nervousness but knowing that his lover would   
instinctively know that there was something wrong. Lex looked up and as soon as he saw his lover a   
smile spread across his face and he pushed his papers away to give Clark his full attention.  
  
"Clark." Lex replied with a slight smirk.  
  
"I missed you." Clark said as he made his way around the desk and Lex moved back a little way so that   
Clark could move between him and his desk. "I thought maybe…"  
  
Lex placed his hands on Clark's hips, almost as if it was an instinctive move and was surprised when   
his lover did not flinch. He had thought that the passion Clark showed the previous day in his office   
was a one off, it was exciting to know that it was not the first time.  
  
"I want you." Clark said, tugging Lex up and pulling him towards him. Lex moaned at the aggressive   
display of wanton behaviour, he had never dared to hope that Clark would be the dominant partner,   
since Clark had escaped he had needed comfort and support. Lex had assumed that any love making   
between them would be gentle and soft, now Clark was kissing him with wilful abandon and Lex could   
feel himself hardening at just the thought of where else they might go.  
  
"Bedroom…" Lex managed to grind out as he pulled up for air, hoping that Clark remembered that   
only one of them was alien and that he needed air to breathe, perhaps more than Clark did.  
  
Before Lex could blink they were in the bedroom, collapsed on top of the comforter and Clark was   
nuzzling his neck, rubbing their cocks together as he did so. Maybe this superspeed was useful for   
more than getting to Smallville and back, it certainly cut out the awkward silences it took to get from   
somewhere to the bedroom.  
  
"Clark, slow down." Lex said, hoping that his lover would not take it as a rejection but merely as a   
request. Clark pulled away immediately and looked down at Lex, seeing the mix of frustration and   
worry in his lover's eyes. It did not cause an urgent panic but threw just enough water on the embers to   
cool him a litte; to bring Clark back to his senses and make him renegotiate what was going on in his   
head.  
  
"You're right." Clark said with a gentle kiss; not wanting to hurt his lover who seemed to be fighting   
his desire in case he took things too far in the moment of passion. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine Clark." Lex said, smiling at his lover's concern for him. "I don't want your first time to be a   
rushed job on my desk."  
  
"We're in the bedroom." Clark countered. Lex rolled his eyes and was glad that the moment of   
conversation and bad joke had at least helped him calm down from the point of imminent climax.   
  
Clark didn't seem to want to stop though as he took off the shirt that he had been wearing to reveal his   
well sculpted and muscular chest and then leaned over to undo Lex's buttons, at least showing a   
modicum of restraint this time. With each new bit of flesh he uncovered Clark would place a gentle   
nip or kiss to the exposed skin until Lex was naked to the waist as he was.  
  
"Can I see you?" Clark asked shyly, with an innocence that went straight to Lex's cock. "All of you."  
  
Lex reached for his zipper, undoing the fly and pulling off his trousers and underwear in a flash. He   
lay naked on the bed and hardened even more when Clark licked his lips at the sight. Lex didn't   
comment when Clark did not strip completely, instead he gasped as Clark reached out and ran a hand   
up his thigh pausing only to cup his erection. Lex rasped a little as Clark began to stroke him and then   
watched wordlessly as Clark leaned down to kiss him, gentle kisses as he firmly worked Lex to the   
point of climax.  
  
With a tightening of his balls and one final firm stroke of his cock Lex came, orgasming more than he   
had in years and panting as he shot more come than he thought humanly possible. It took a moment   
before he came back down to earth after the heady climax and he was surprised when Clark kissed his   
softly.  
  
"Thank you." Clark said, making Lex's eyebrows shoot up, surely Clark did not think that it was hard to   
accept a hand job from someone like him. Lex wanted to return the favour although he wasn't sure that   
he was able but as he saw Clark get out of bed and pull off his own clothes, leaving them both naked he   
could see that there was no need. It was a huge compliment to know that Clark had come just from   
pleasuring him, but it also cast questions in his mind as to what this was going to lead to. If this was   
what a hand job did to him he couldn't wait for full sex, that would probably kill him.  
  
"My room?" Clark asked as he looked at the mess of sticky sheets, Lex looked at him, wide eyed and   
then a moment later realised that Clark had not waited for an answer before even whisking them away.   
If he had not still been on a high from their amazing orgasm he may have complained about all of the   
carrying and flying but as soon as a naked Clark lay down next to him any complaint died on his lips.   
He was in heaven, it surely couldn't get better than this.  
  
------------------------  
  
To Be Continued  
  
Note: Well, it finally happened, story gains the R rating, and there is a little bit left to do. Thanks to   
those that have already reviewed, let me know what you think of this too. 


	14. 14

Part 14 - Loose Ends and Love.  
  
Clark woke with a yawn, he leaned over to get the alarm only to find that his movement was hindered   
by an arm that lay around his waist. As he looked down he was amused to see Lex was asleep,   
wrapped around him as if he were a security blanket and did not seem to want to let go. Clark wriggled   
experimentally, working his way loose and then hit the alarm, it was 7.30 and he had to get to the   
newsroom if he was going to be there for when the story broke; he only hoped that Lex would   
understand.  
  
"Come on sleepyhead." Clark said as he tried to rouse the sleeping figure, Lex grumbled a little but   
then woke when Clark placed a sloppy kiss on his lips. Lex responded, albeit sleepily and moaned as   
he felt the effect of the kiss travel through him.  
  
"Morning breathe." Lex mumbled as Clark leaned in for a second kiss but he ignored him and kissed   
his lover for a second time anyway.   
  
"I love you." Clark said, this woke Lex more quickly than he had thought possible, a wide grin   
spreading across his friend's face. "But I have to get to work."  
  
Clark wanted to laugh as Lex tried to pout, it was obvious that this didn't work for the billionaire but   
then why should he have ever cultivated a pout, it was not as if he needed one, most people gave into   
him immediately.  
  
"We can't all own the company." Clark said as he placed one final kiss on Lex's lips and then slid out of   
bed, heading for the ensuite in his room and a quick, cold shower. He did not want Lex to see that the   
few morning kisses had affected him too, if the other man had his way Clark would never get to the   
office and it was too big a story to miss out on taking the credit for.  
  
Lex lay in bed working on the possibilities that he could bribe Clark to stay at home, of course his lover   
was beyond corruption, just one of the annoying traits he had picked up from the Kents. Lex wondered   
if there was another way around this instead, without asking Clark to give up his life he would have to   
make do with both of them having busy careers.  
  
Clark was gone when he woke next but there was a note on the bedside, Lex wondered if this was how   
it would be.  
  
"See You Tonight. I love you. Clark."  
  
  
Lex sighed, he supposed that having his lover stay over for another night was the most he could expect,   
he ought to be happy that they were even back together after what had happened before.  
-----------------  
  
Clark dawdled to the Planet, he could have had an extra five minutes in bed with Lex but somehow five   
minutes would not have been enough, somehow the dream of being a journalist, or giving the truth   
back to those that had taken it from him no longer seemed to appeal. The shining gleam that his career   
ambition had once held was tarnished and paled in comparison when he held it up to the radiance of   
Lex's love.   
  
As he entered the building of the newspaper, crossing the threshold with the large Planet sign above it   
he wondered what it would be like if he hadn't had to rush off, if they had been able to spend a long   
morning in bed together. Would Lex have hurried into work? Somehow Clark thought that the answer   
was no, Clark knew that his lover had taken a few months off when he had first gotten out of his   
nightmare prison, and yet here he was unwilling to take one day to be with Lex. Maybe it was about   
time he started to make the sacrifices in their relationship.  
  
The lift got to his floor, the top floor of the planet building, and he was surprised to see a large banner   
with "Well Done Clark" written on it, Perry was clutching a copy of the front page and had a wide grin   
on his face. Lois stood behind him, faking a smile but even she seemed to be proud of him and Jimmy   
was the one that was most full of pride as if he was seeing his hero take his rightful place at the   
winner's podium, as he made his way into the crowd Clark noticed that he was the only one that was   
not beaming at his success.  
  
"Well done son, you could go far." Perry said as he handed him a glass of champagne. "The business   
papers are fuming that you got this exclusive, the bosses are reeling from the advanced sales and there   
are a few network people that want an interview. This is a huge accomplishment for our paper."  
  
"Thanks." Clark said, blushing slightly.  
  
"I have to hand it to you rookie, you did good on this one." Lois said. "Obviously being my partner has   
paid off."  
  
Clark smiled, matching Lois' false smile with one of his own and not wanting to tell her exactly what   
he thought of her journalistic endeavours.  
  
"Perry, can I see you in your office?" Clark asked, Perry smiled and nodded. Turning to Lois before he   
followed Clark.  
  
"This is where he asks me for a big raise and to work on his own more often. It's a shame, you two   
would have made a good team."  
  
Clark waited in the office, taking a seat when Perry offered him one and then reaching for the note he   
had drafted on the way up to work, he had wanted to type it but he thought it would be best to talk this   
over with his boss first.  
  
"What can I do for you Clark?" Perry said. "I have to say that you're flavour of the month around here   
so if you're looking for a raise or something now would be the time to do it."  
  
"I want to resign." Clark said. His boss coughed, half shocked and half laughing until he realised that   
Clark was not joking and that this was obviously a serious proposal.  
  
"Is it another paper?" Perry asked. "I mean we gave you a chance here and I like to think that you   
would have some loyalty, we can probably match their offer and I'm sure that the board would be   
willing to do so if it meant that we got to keep our bright young star."  
  
Clark blushed at the flattery and realised that this was pretty bad timing, as far as his career was going   
it was just taking off but he wanted to spend more time with Lex and this was the only way he could   
see to do it.  
  
"Actually I just want to spend more time with my family." Clark said, and it was true because Lex was   
all the family that he had and all the family that he needed. "Working long hours is putting a lot of   
strain on us and we can afford it."  
  
"Well, I have to admit that we'll miss you and if you want to stay on with us on a freelance basis I'm   
sure that the higher ups will be only too happy to buy any other stories that you pass our way,   
especially exclusive ones." Perry said, Clark beamed that was one thing that he had not thought of.   
That way he could work on stories but also have time for Lex.  
  
"Thanks a lot Mr. White. For everything." Clark said. "I'll work out my notice period if you need me   
to."  
  
"No need son, you've been here less than three months." Perry said. "I'm only sorry that this hasn't   
worked out for you."  
  
"I bet Lois won't see it that way." Clark said bitterly, Perry looked at him with a raised eyebrow and   
shook his head. He was not about to start in on that one with Clark, even though he could see that his   
lead reporter wanted the rookie, she just wouldn't say it. She always did have a soft spot for the   
hopeless cases.  
  
As Clark went to leave he wondered if Lex had left for the office yet, maybe he could surprise his lover   
while he was still in bed.  
  
------------------  
  
Lex had spent a lot of his time after Clark had left dwelling on matters that he had not wanted to dwell   
on; thinking of the things that Clark had brought to mind in his leaving and how they could spend more   
time together. The usual Luthor response to a problem was to throw money at it, that is if it could not   
be deleted or killed. Lex's first thought was buying the Planet, he could give it to his lover as a kind of   
'welcome home' present. Yet Lex knew that this was not the real solution, Clark would give it back as   
he had the truck when he was younger, there was no buying a Kent and that was just one of the many   
reasons that he loved Clark. The only problem was how to solve this dilemma without using money.  
  
The phone ringing pulled him out of his daze, it appeared that there was a delivery in the lower parking   
lot for him and because there was no staff at th Penthouse he would have to accept it himself.  
  
Lex made his way down, wary of anything that was being delivered without his knowledge and was   
surprised to see a large truck. It looked suspiciously like one of the trucks that a Smallville farmer   
would drive and when he saw the licence plate he smiled wryly. It looked that way because it was, to   
be exact it was a truck he had bought for the farm, it had stayed at the Kent property with no one to use   
it but it seemed odd for there not to be one parked outside.  
  
"Hi." Clark said as he climbed down from the cab of the truck and made his way around the back.   
"You wouldn't believe some of the looks you get taking this into the city." He said. "You want to give   
me a hand getting this stuff upstairs?"  
  
Lex was bemused and watched as his lover unloaded two suitcases and a small backpack from the flat   
bed of the truck, it looked as if the entire contents of Clark's life was packed into these bags.  
  
"Can I ask what you're doing?" Lex asked, Clark looked at him as he reached in and pulled out the final   
items, a small potted plant that looked as if it had seen better days, there was also a small box of files   
and a framed picture. Clark threw the plant and the picture in the box and handed it to Lex,   
shouldering the pack and taking a suitcase in each hand. It was only when they were both fully ladened   
that Clark turned to answer the question.  
  
"Isn't it obvious?" Clark asked with a slight smile. "I'm moving in."  
  
"But…"  
  
"I told you I would see you later." Clark said with a small smile, he looked as if he was enjoying this   
far too much. "I had to pack up the apartment, drop off the keys and hand in my notice at the Planet.   
But I was always planning on coming back."  
  
Lex had to struggle hard not to drop the box that he was holding, instead he tightened his grip. He had   
spent the whole morning stewing over exactly this problem and here was his lover giving him a way   
out of it all. He felt as if he ought to disagree, to oppose Clark giving up his entire life for him when he   
was not doing the same and yet Clark did not seem to mind. He had to be sure that this was what Clark   
really wanted and not out of some strange sense of owing something to Lex.  
  
"And this is what you want?" Lex asked, Clark looked bereft and Lex suddenly realised that maybe his   
cool reaction made it seem as if it was not what he wanted. "Because if it is, I would love to have you   
here permanently. This is your home Clark, for as long as you want it to be."  
  
"I still have some things that I need to organise, to sort out in my life but I want you to help me with   
them." Clark said. "I don't want to be alone anymore."  
  
There was a tone of complete loss in his voice as he spoke the words and Lex knew how that felt, to be   
alone and scared in the world, he remembered that from the cornfield aged nine and again when he had   
lost Clark from his life, he didn't want to feel it again and could see why Clark wanted to escape it.  
  
"I love you." Lex said and Clark smiled, a smile that reached his eyes for the first time in a long while.   
The younger man leaned over and kissed Lex softly, having to guide his way around boxes and bags   
but it was the kiss that was important, as if it sealed the deal.  
  
From here things could only go up.  
  
-------------------------  
  
Epilogue.  
  
Iris could hardly believe the call that she had just taken from her boss, Lex Luthor had been behaving   
very strangely for the last six months or so, ever since the company had absorbed into it the research   
company that had housed a top secret government project. It was good though, she wasn't sure when   
Lex Luthor had met the young man, the one that was frequently in his office but he seemed to make   
Lex smile and that was only a good thing. She was usually a businesslike professional but she saw Lex   
as a good boy, one that had lacked his mother's love a lot while he was growing up and she hoped that   
with this additional love in his life he would blossom into the great man that he was destined to be, at   
least that way he would be a better man than his father.  
  
There was a few things that she had to put into place too, a trust fund, or rather a set of trust funds for   
Peter Ross Jr and his twin brother Clark and for Richard (known as Ricky) and Chloe Fordman. Other   
than that it was just the arrangements for Mr. Luthor's three month sabbatical, he was taking time off to   
spend with his lover. She wondered if this had anything to do with the calls he had made to the   
President recently but would not deal with it personally, that was too much beyond her job description.   
He may be like a son to her but he was still her employer, she was just glad that he was happy.  
  
--------   
  
END  
  
Note: I know that I left it open ended, whether Superman was created between the pair or if they just   
wandered into the sunset together holding two fingers up to the world, well, that is up to you…  
  
And if you want an excuse as to why I've not been around, well check out the Clark Lex FuhQ Fest.  
  
That's where all the slash writers are hiding ;) 


End file.
